Behind the Design: An Interview with Claudiu, Our Lead Mechanical Engineer on Sheet Metal Design

As a mechanical engineer, when it comes to designing components,do you have a preference for working with plastic or metal, and why?

It depends on the project, but if I had to choose, I would choose plastic due to its enhanced flexibility in seamlessly incorporating industrial design elements into the mechanical design. Working with sheet metal is better when you have a tight timeline because the prototyping technology is the same as mass production and the final product would be close to the prototype from material perspective. In this case, with a prototype you can both validate the design and the manufacturing technology.

How do you ensure a smooth transition from design to manufacturing? How do you bridge the gap between the design phase and manufacturing?

By involving possible manufacturers in the design process when the first draft version is completed, by doing so you can have preliminary feedback from the manufacturer and his capabilities and some of the possible issues are mitigated from an early stage and can help on solving design challenges faced by the mechanical designer.

Ottim Metal - Sheet Metal Design

What challenges do you often face in sheet metal processing, and how do you handle them during development?

One of the challenges are the tolerances of the parts, a good supplier can provide tighter tolerances and thus from the design stage the gaps can be smaller, creating an overall better product. Another challenge is to meet the capabilities of the suppliers, most suppliers have low range of tooling options. This constraint can restrict design possibilities. Opting for a supplier with an extensive range of tooling options opens up opportunities for incorporating bends and features that significantly enhance the overall design.

Can you explain how you prototype and test sheet metal components during development to ensure quality?

The main advantage of sheet metal manufacturing is that you can prototype the product using the same material and process as mass production in the case of air bending. This allows you to test the product from a functional and from appearance standpoint, both characteristics will be similar to mass production, from this perspective, sheet metal bending is the best way to have relevant tests in development that will be replicated by mass production test. All the tests that are required in development can be performed on a sheet metal prototype and be replicated on mass production at lower costs than other manufacturing technologies.

Based on current trends, what changes or preferences have you noticed regarding sheet metal in products, and how do you adapt to them?

Lately I have noticed an increase in demand for premium products, to meet these higher requirements we need to have tighter tolerances on the components, for bent sheet metal parts this is dependent on the tooling and equipment, for welded components this is highly dependent on the skill of the welder, a highly skilled welder can achieve really good tolerances on complex assembly thus reducing the scrap rate and overall cost for the process. 

Looking back on your experiences in product development with sheet metal, what valuable lessons have you learned along the way, and how have these lessons influenced your approach to future projects?

A good lesson I learned when I've designed a complex sheet metal product, although I design it using the design guidelines for sheet metal products, the supplier couldn't perform the bends on some of the parts, this was because of the lack of tooling from their side but for other parts they could achieve a better result than expected. When we sourced for a second supplier, we encountered some that didn't give us a quote at all because the parts, according to their experience, weren't possible to produce, although we already had them produced at another supplier. This influenced a lot the future designs, because the range of possibilities for manufacturing a sheet metal component is directly proportional to experience of the supplier and by choosing the right supplier from the start can improve the overall design of the product.

In conclusion, sheet metal design is a fascinating blend of precision and creativity. Through our engineer's insights, we've uncovered the importance of careful planning, supplier selection, and early collaboration with manufacturers.

As we wrap up, we extend our gratitude to Claudiu. Cheers to pushing boundaries, overcoming challenges, and crafting products that leave a lasting impact. Here's to a future filled with innovation and excellence in every design. Thank you for being part of the journey!