If you are planning on acquiring custom equipment parts from a machinist, you should consult an industrial engineer for designing. This professional will help you develop components which are practical and efficient for your application as well as economically feasible. However, if you have knowledge of the field and solid ideas, you can prepare and provide your drawing to the fabricator. Here are some practical guidelines on designing and ordering cost-effective custom parts. 

Create a Detailed Drawing

Preparing a clear and detailed drawing or print is critical for a custom part fabrication project. If your design and the included text are not legible, the fabricator will not understand the requirements. This issue can cause unexpected project delays and higher expenses. Ideally, you should use dark lines to show the structure of your custom part. The drawing should be large, and the text indicating measures should be highly visible. Avoid using light colours such as yellow and blue because they do not copy well.

Consider the Tolerances

When preparing your design draft, you should take note of measurements and tolerances. In general, fabricators take tolerances in equipment parts manufacture seriously because this aspect can cause rejection of products. However, you should not demand high tolerance specification for your products unless this is essential. If the parts have to be made to the highest level of dimensional accuracy, your manufacturing costs will be astronomical. 

Use Solid Modelling 

If you are dealing with a complex machine part, you should think about using a solid modelling system for design. This type of software will help the machinist get a more accurate visual understanding of your requirements. After all, some part designs are difficult to understand from a simple two-dimensional drawing. Still, you should not forget to include a dimensioned print of the same because it will be critical in ensuring correct geometry of parts. 

Provide Information on Usage

Industrial fabricators are experienced in manufacturing parts. Therefore, they can create most ordered products based on a design. However, it is advisable to provide information on the usage of the part when making your order. This data is invaluable in ensuring that the fabricator creates a custom part which perfectly matches your expectations and needs. Remember, custom machinists are always trying to meet the customer requirements. Providing some simple details can help achieve this goal with ease.

Designing custom parts for machining can be a complicated and challenging process. Therefore, you should not overlook the importance of professional industrial engineering during your project.