Machining Characteristics of Stainless Steel
Stainless steel shows the following machining characteristics.
High Cutting and Machining Force:
Stainless steel has specific characteristics, such as large plastic deformation and tangential stress during the cutting procedure. So due to serious work hardening and the higher thermal strength of stainless steel, it also increases cutting resistance, making it difficult for chips to curl and break. So we require a large cutting and machining force for processing stainless steel.
Severe Work Hardening
The work tendency of stainless steel is large due to the austenitic structure and some other high stainless steel alloys. It is much more severe than carbon steel and does not have a premature fracture risk. Work hardening has disadvantages in machining:
- The need for special monitoring
- Attention to speed and cutting force
This property reflects the difference between tensile and yield strength in cold working.
The Tool is Prone to Adhesive Wear
The features of stainless steel, such as high cutting temperature, melting point, and large plasticity, are responsible for speeding up its tool wearing, leading to a change of tools. This change in tools and tool wear can affect the cost and production efficiency. It may become the reason for high-cost. Carbides in stainless steel have high hardening quality, and tool friction and direct contact or tool scratching can become reasons for tool wear.
The Local High Temperature in The Cutting Area:
High temperature in the cutting area is concentrated near the tool edge, which can speed up the tool’s wear, ultimately increasing the project’s overall cost. Friction and plastic deformation with the tool is large and can produce a large quality of cutting heat. When the tool chip comes into contact with and cutting area interface, it concentrates a large amount of cutting heat.
5 Reasons for Using CNC Service to Produce Precision Stainless Steel Parts
Here are some common reasons for using CNC services for producing precision stainless steel parts.
Reason 1:CNC method could guarantee the accuracy of stainless steel parts
No doubt, CNC machining services are well known for their higher accuracy. The cutting process is completely controlled by computer programs that reduce the chances of errors in the machining process.
Therefore, it is used to manufacture stainless steel parts to produce highly accurate end products. This production is why they are prioritized for machining purposes compared to other machining operations.
CNC services guarantee accurate stainless steel parts for the following reasons.
- The whole machining and cutting process is under computer control.
- The accuracy is maintained through regular calibration of machine tools
- High-quality countless CNC machine components help in achieving accuracy
- Thermal consistency is maintained during machining to produce accurate parts by preventing deviation.
Reason 2- CNC service could improve the surface roughness of stainless steel
CNC service can improve the surface roughness of stainless steel parts. Some methods used for surface finishing are:
1- Sandblasting
It is one of the main methods we use for surface finishing. In this method spray of micro glass beads can remove the black oxide layer from the stainless steel surface. It can change the appearance and aesthetic beauty of stainless steel parts but make sure not to use a rough surface finish for your parts; it can cause low corrosion resistance.
2- Chemical Treatment
This method uses a cleaning solution and pickling passivation solution with inorganic additives. We use these solutions at room temperature to wash and recover stainless steel’s natural color and appearance.
Reason 3- No tooling cost compared with forging, casting, or stamping.
One of the main reasons behind using CNC services for machining precision stainless steel parts is the negligible or no tooling cost. Tool requirement for the forging, casting, and stamping methods is higher, which can result in greater manufacturing costs.
On the other hand, the tooling cost for machining stainless steel through machining services is zero. You do not need to purchase the tools again and again. It means that you can achieve highly precise stainless steel CNC machined parts with no additional expenditure of money. In short, it is a more cost-effective process than forging, casting, and stamping.
Reason 4: Fast Production Time
CNC machines are well recognized for their efficient and fast production time. The machining of stainless steel can produce a large volume of the machined parts with greater accuracy in less time.
The prototype formation plays an important role in the early production of the machined parts. The prototype of the workpiece matches exactly with the end product. So, errors can be identified and recovered in the initial stages of production. It prevents the machined part from undergoing another machining process.
Moreover, the production time of the stainless steel parts is increased through the fast setting of CNC machines and tools. The CNC machines can perform 24 hours a day without breaking and tiring. Thus, many machined parts can produce because of CNC services’ fast production time.
Reason 5: CNC Service could make more complex stainless steel parts
As we know that stainless steel is harder than regular steel, so it is difficult to manufacture its complex parts and features. The manual machining processes may not produce the desired features despite great effort. It can lead to damaged workpieces, wasting time and money for customers and the company.
On the other hand, CNC services are computer numerical control and have 4 and 5-axis machines process, so production parts are cheaper and faster than other processes. Thus, it eliminates other possible chances of errors and wrong cutting. The efficient machines and the sharp cutters effectively remove the desired material to form intricate parts. In short, to form complex stainless steel parts, CNC services are a perfect choice.
Worthy Hardware is a leading manufacturing platform that provides custom-quality products and surface-finishing services for CNC machine parts. We are helped lots of companies and customers to achieve their goals.
