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Cost
How a Small Design Change Cuts Manufacturing Cost
A deep pocket existed only to clear a cable. We rerouted the cable and removed the pocket — part cost dropped 65%.
June 3, 2026 6 min read
A client's bracket needed a deep pocket milled from solid — 14 minutes per part on the CNC. The pocket existed only to clear a cable. We changed the cable routing and removed the pocket.
Before and after
- Machining time 14 min down to 3 min
- Tool changes 3 down to 1
- Part cost down roughly 65%
- Function identical
The lesson: every feature has a cost. Before adding one, ask what it is for. Often the cheapest fix is to remove the need for the feature, not to engineer the feature itself.
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