There are many different industries that rely on the properties and characteristics of stainless steel as a material for parts and components or even for entire systems and devices. Stainless steel is highly corrosion resistant and can have additional finishing and coating options to boost corrosion resistance for extreme types of environments and working conditions.
An experienced shop providing services for machining stainless steel is a must as there are many different grades of stainless steel, some which are easier to work with than others. Additionally, it is essential to know how the various alloys, impact ease of machining, as the correct choice of cutting tools, system setup and various other factors has a direct relation to the quality of the machining.
Correct Equipment Setup
Two important categories of setup to consider with any service offering the machining stainless steel is the speed and the feed that is set up and controlled by the CNC equipment.
Incorrect setup of the equipment and the wrong choice of cutting tools results in increased wear and tear on the tools. This not only increases the cost of production, but it also impacts the precision and tolerances of the parts as the tools begin to wear.
Chatter or vibration is also a factor to consider when the equipment is not correctly set up for the particular grade and type of stainless steel. This is more problematic when the incorrect tool is selected. As the vibration, chatter and the inability to evacuate the chips correctly becomes more of an issue, it is simply impossible to meet high tolerances and to work with many industry standards.
The experience the company machining stainless steel brings to the project has a direct impact on the cost, quality, and precision of the parts produced. Taking the time to ask about past projects and to understand the amount of work the company has done with stainless steel parts is time well spent.
