Material Selection Requirements
Cost is an important factor to consider while selecting material. However, the cost that you consider should be the cost of the final part not just the material cost. An inexpensive material may not be the most cost effective material for your part if the part fails to provide the required functionality or breaks in service and has to be replaced. Remedying just one service failure may cost you hundreds of times more than what you paid for the part. Financial loss due to actual downtime, loss of reputation and the resulting loss of business could be much higher. Also keep in mind that the cost per pound may not reflect the actual material cost in the part due to differences in densities of different materials. Molded part cost will also be affected if a material requires special handling, is difficult to process, causes high scrap rates or requires longer cycle times in molding. |