Machining10 min read
Die casting vs sand casting vs gravity casting: matching the route to the brief
Three casting routes compared on fill, tooling, tolerance, wall and volume, with the part briefs that point to each one.
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Sourcing notes for custom parts
Drawings, tooling, quality and landed cost, from the team that runs the programmes.
All guides, page 17
Browse the full library.
Sourcing9 min read
Freight damage claims: evidence, timing and recovery
Most damage claims fail on paperwork, not on the facts. How to inspect, notify, preserve evidence and pursue a claim without losing the right to recover.
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Machining10 min read
Heat sink mounting and flatness: making contact
A flat sink, a clean pad and the right screw torque still fail if the pressure is in the wrong place. Contact is a system property.
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Machining9 min read
Heat sinks for data centre equipment: high density and liquid cooling
Where air cooling stops being practical, how cold plates change the heat sink design, and the flatness and pressure calls that decide whether a liquid loop works.
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Machining10 min read
Machined brass fittings and inserts: threads, seals and design
Thread standards, sealing methods and the wall thickness that decides whether a brass fitting holds pressure or strips at assembly.
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Machining9 min read
Passivation for machined copper and brass: what it protects and what it costs
The word passivation means different things on copper and brass. Here is how to specify a finish that protects the surface without turning a conductive part into an insulator.
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Machining10 min read
Aluminium die casting: the process and the design rules that follow from it
How a die casting is filled, solidified and ejected, and the wall, draft, fillet and boss rules that come directly from those steps.
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Machining10 min read
Bonded fin vs extruded vs skived heat sinks
Three ways to put fins on a base, three different limits. The choice is usually set by fin aspect ratio, volume and the joint you are willing to inspect.
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Machining9 min read
Deburring machined parts: methods, edge specs and cost
Manual, vibratory and thermal deburring solve different problems. A practical guide to choosing the method, writing the edge call and keeping the cost out of the wrong place.
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Sourcing9 min read
Freight forwarder vs integrator: control, service and hidden costs
A forwarder gives you choice and a rate to manage. An integrator gives you one contract and a service level. The right answer depends on volume, risk and how much freight work you want to own.
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Machining9 min read
Heat sinks for LED lighting: natural convection and aesthetics
How luminaire shape, fin orientation and visible surfaces decide the heat sink, and where die casting earns its place over extrusion.
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Machining9 min read
Machined copper surface finish: Ra, contact resistance and plating
Why an Ra number on its own does not describe a copper contact face, and how lay, waviness and oxide decide the joint.
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Go from reading to checking
The guides are built around the same questions as the free tools. Size a busbar, check an ISO 2768 callout, build a first article report or compare landed cost.
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