Using traditional machine shops versus CNC machining centers

The paper examines traditional and CNC machining for fabrication of molds and prototypes. Factors examined include: Delivery Tolerances Cost Technical competence Equipment Cosmetics Conventional machined tooling is more appropriate where high finish, extremely high precision and high feature density is required, but CAD data is not available or is not converted easily to CNC cutter oaths. Traditional machined prototypes may be more cost effective. delivered faster. and include better feature definition and surfaces for small part volumes. Leaving CNC out of the manufacturing cycle may be beneficial for the OEM, injection molder, and designer in low volume applications and for high precision molds where the feature definition of the part is critical and parts costs must be considered.