Ideambox

Resources / R-01 — Mechanical calculators

Tools for mechanical decisions.

Single-purpose calculators for mechanical product development — plastic part DFM, fastener sizing, fit and tolerance, and manufacturing cost. Built around the questions Ideambox answers on real hardware projects.

14 of 14 tools Tip: use #tag to filter by tag · Esc to clear
§ A — Plastic part DFM

Plastic part design

IDB-MEC-001

Plastic wall thickness

Recommended wall ranges per resin and flow-length sanity check.

DFM injection molding plastic
Injection DFM → IDB-MEC-002

Snap-fit stress

Peak strain on a cantilever snap; compare to material allowable.

snap-fit plastic stress
Plastic snap → IDB-MEC-003

Clamp force estimator

Tonnage estimate for sizing the right injection machine.

tooling injection molding clamp force
Tooling →
§ B — Fasteners & fits

Fasteners & fits

IDB-MEC-004

Screw torque & preload

Recommended torque and preload for metric screws by grade and friction.

fastener torque screw
Fastening → IDB-MEC-005

Thread engagement

Min Le so the female threads survive the bolt's preload.

thread fastener screw
Tapped holes → IDB-MEC-006

Press-fit interference

Contact pressure, holding force, and torque for shaft-hub fits.

fit shaft interference
Shaft · hub → IDB-MEC-007

ISO 286 fit calculator

Hole-and-shaft fits across H7/g6 and friends.

tolerance ISO 286 fit
Tolerances →
§ C — Geometry & weight

Geometry & weight

IDB-MEC-008

Mass from volume

Part mass from CAD volume across 24+ materials.

mass materials CAD
Shipping · BOM → IDB-MEC-009

Tolerance stack-up

Worst-case and RSS stack-up across a chain of toleranced parts.

tolerance stack-up assembly
Assembly → IDB-MEC-010

3D CAD viewer

In-browser STEP/STL inspection.

CAD STEP STL
Viewer →
§ D — Manufacturing & cost

Manufacturing & cost

IDB-MEC-011

Injection cost estimator

Per-part cost: material, machine, tool amortization, margin.

cost injection molding target costing
Target costing → IDB-MEC-012

CNC time & cost

Cycle time and per-part cost from MRR and setup.

CNC machining cost
CNC → IDB-MEC-013

BOM cost roll-up

Dynamic line-item BOM with margin and top-driver flag.

BoM cost sourcing
Target costing → IDB-MEC-014

IP rating picker

IP code from environment, plus gasket and conformal-coat guidance.

sealing IP rating environmental
Sealing →

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