In today’s economy, more businesses are prioritizing cost-cutting. If your company is too, you’ll need to carefully consider material, finish, design, and preparation. You’ll also need the right fabrication partner to reduce costs without lowering quality or durability. Whether you’re managing large-scale production or custom projects, strategic adjustments can have significant implications for costs.
Ways to Save Money on Your Next Metal Production Project
Consider these aspects of your metal production project to see where you might be able to save money.
Choose Materials Wisely
If possible, consider choosing a less-expensive metal. Your metal production partner can help you pick the best, most cost-effective metal for your project. A few things to keep in mind:
- Standard, off-the-shelf materials can always save on costs.
- If your metal fabrication project calls for stainless steel, consider specifying 316 over 304.
- Carbon steel is usually the most cost-effective option, while aluminum will always be the highest-cost material.
Consider Different Finishes
While powder coating is the optimum finish for a metal fabrication project, it may not always be necessary. Painting or galvanizing is less expensive than powder coating and can be equally effective — depending on what your product is used for and where it is located.
Plan Your Designs
Low-cost sheet metal fabrication requires you to understand what your metal fabrication piece will be used for — communicate that clearly to your metal production partner up front. This saves on design costs and helps fabricators provide a more accurate estimate for creating the part you’re looking for.
If you have the ability, create your own shop drawings ahead of time. This cuts down on your metal fabricator’s design time. It also helps to speed production time because materials can be ordered sooner.
Simplify your design. Complex metal fabrication projects or parts can have intricate bends, weld joints that are difficult to reach, and possibly more corners to cope or miter. Many times, intricate designs look nice but don’t add to the overall function of the end product. Making your design as simple as possible helps save money in the fabrication process because it will take less time to produce.
Focus on Preparation
Last-minute design changes, expediting parts, shipping partial orders — these can all add up quickly. Avoid these additional costs by pre-planning carefully.
Place your metal production order as early as possible to give your fabricator time to find the ideal materials at the best pricing. This also helps them fit you into their schedule.
Choose Fabricators Who Provide Complete Solutions
Improving efficiency is the best way to cut sheet metal fabrication costs. You can improve efficiency by working with professional metal fabricators. Keeping metal fabrication costs low is easier when you work with a knowledgeable one-stop metal fabrication shop, saving time and money. Partner with metal fabricators who can handle every phase of metal fabrication. Here’s how an all-in-one fabricator can help:
- Simplify supply chain management: Communicating and coordinating with multiple vendors can be difficult and cause delays. Working with a single fabricator saves time. More streamlined communication with one fabricator helps you achieve smoother logistics. This approach ensures faster project timelines, helping avoid costly delays and simplifying inventory and material tracking.
- Maintain consistent quality control: When you work with a single fabricator, you can maintain high quality standards. Since one company will be handling the entire process, it’s easier to ensure all components meet your required specifications.
- Provide faster turnaround times: A one-stop metal fabrication shop that manages all aspects of production can often provide quicker turnaround times. Builders don’t have to wait for multiple suppliers to complete different stages of the fabrication process, resulting in shorter lead times.
- Streamline design and customization: Working with one fabrication specialist leads to more efficient designs that are easier to fabricate and more cost-effective. You can work with the fabrication design team to optimize designs for manufacturability, ensuring they use less material or fewer complex processes, lowering fabrication costs.
Does Off-Site Fabrication Save Money?
Whether you’re in construction, agriculture, or other industries, off-site services can cut sheet metal fabrication costs. By moving fabrication to an off-site facility, businesses minimize on-site expenses, reduce material waste, and improve efficiency. Off-site fabricators use advanced automation, which optimizes cutting and assembly, saving you money on material and time.
Bulk production also lowers per-unit costs, saving compared to custom on-site work. Plus, fabrication off-site is usually faster because you don’t have to worry about bad weather or site conditions. With streamlined logistics and fewer disruptions, off-site fabrication helps businesses cut expenses while maintaining high quality standards.
Partner With Mid-Atlantic Steel Fabrication Today
At Mid-Atlantic Steel Fabrication, we specialize in a variety of custom steel fabrication processes, including laser, forming, welding, and coating, for our customers across a vast range of industries. From simple components to complex parts and products, we can work with many different types of metal, including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, and copper. Contact us today to learn more about the type of work we can produce for you.