Machining10 min read
DFM for machined, cast and extruded parts: one checklist, three routes
A single design review that works across machining, casting and extrusion, with the questions that change by process and the ones that never change.
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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 18
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Sourcing9 min read
EPR and packaging obligations: registration, reporting and fees
Extended producer responsibility puts the cost of packaging at end of life on the business that places it on the market. What to register, what data to keep and who owns the obligation.
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Machining10 min read
Heat sink material: aluminium vs copper
Copper conducts almost twice as well, and weighs more than three times as much. The right choice depends on where the bottleneck sits in the thermal path.
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Machining9 min read
Heat sink surface finish and anodising: corrosion, emissivity and contact
What anodising does to a heat sink, when black beats clear, and why the oxide layer must be kept away from the thermal interface.
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Machining10 min read
Machined parts for EV busbars and terminals: current, heat and vibration
How machined terminals and busbar adapters differ from general electrical parts: higher current density, thermal cycling, vibration and the joint calls that keep resistance stable.
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Machining10 min read
Threads on machined parts: callouts, depth and gauging
How to write a thread callout that a machinist can cut and an inspector can gauge, and the blind-hole details that decide whether it holds.
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Machining9 min read
Die cast parts for EV and battery systems: crash, sealing and thermal requirements
How structural load, sealing, coolant and electrical isolation change the design and the evidence a die casting programme needs.
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Machining11 min read
Heat sink thermal resistance: calculation and test
A worked resistance chain, the terms a datasheet leaves out, and a test method that tells you whether the assembly or the sink is the problem.
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Machining10 min read
Machined parts for switchgear and connectors: threads, faces and current paths
The drawing calls that decide whether a machined terminal, stem or adapter works in switchgear: thread class, contact face, plating, creepage and the datums that hold them together.
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Sourcing9 min read
Quality agreement and warranty: responsibilities and remedies
Who inspects, who decides, who pays and who fixes it. A quality agreement turns a specification into a working process, and a warranty clause decides what happens when it fails.
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Machining10 min read
Sourcing castings and heat sinks from India: route, evidence and launch
How to read the Indian foundry and extrusion market for cast and machined parts, from cluster choice and tooling ownership to the evidence pack and the first shipment.
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Machining10 min read
Turned brass parts: alloy selection and lead content
Free-machining brass is fast because of lead. Here is how to choose a grade, when to move to a lead-free alloy and what to put on the drawing.
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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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