Design Guides & DFM Best Practices

DFM best practices for CNC milling and turning. Learn optimal wall thickness, hole placement, tolerance selection, and surface finish specifications to reduce cost and improve manufacturability.

Essential guidelines for sheet metal fabrication including bend radii, hole-to-edge distances, material selection, and flat pattern optimization for laser cutting and bending.

Design considerations for SLA, SLS, MJF, and FDM processes. Understand support structures, orientation effects, layer adhesion, and post-processing requirements.

Critical design rules for injection molded parts including draft angles, uniform wall thickness, rib design, gate placement, and sink mark prevention.

Comprehensive guide to geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. Learn when tight tolerances are necessary, how to specify them correctly, and their impact on cost and lead time.

Compare metals and plastics for your application. Understand mechanical properties, corrosion resistance, temperature limits, and cost trade-offs for informed material decisions.