Cutting stainless steel

[dubliner]

I've been asked to cut a logo in stainless, wont be big probably .75 h x 3 in l, in 16th in stainless, probably use a .125 em & live with that diameter and the corners I get, but is it possible at all? Dubliner

[Gary Campbell]

Neville...
Which of the non-ferrous metals is stainless?

In most cases, stainless is harder to cut than mild steel.

Sometimes it is better to be sorry you didnt get a job, then to be sorry you did.

[dvmike]

If the stainless is that thin you should be ok.
Just feed it slowly. It will be helpful to use a coolant in a spray bottle as well.

[cnc_works]

You will just burn your bit. Farm it out. For an experiment, just try to drill a hole in a piece of the stock.

[cabnet636]

neville, find a local gasket company with a big waterjet get it cut, take credit as they will be back

jim

[knight_toolworks]

or a laser cutter. this is not something that can be done on the bot. ut for fun try it and let us know the results :D

[dubliner]

MIke, I think we're outnumbered. Its an amplifiier cover for a marine application, and although only .0625, my experience with SS limited but I have had trouble drilling holes in it. I suupose I have to try it and will report my findings, but obviously I wont get my hopes up too high. I'll do it as an experiment at customers cost for case, bit & time. OK thanks all - Nev

[garyb]

Gee's Nev you get into some weird things :)

Onsrud 83-305AiTin - 1/8" 2 flute upcut spiral for stainless
18ipm, 18000rpm .012 depth of cut per pass

[dubliner]

Yes I do dont I. I did see that Onsrud has a specific bit for SS, but I'm surprised it would take 5 passes to cut though 1/16 of an inch, am I reading that correctly? I think I'll just engrave it with my Widgetworks Drag Bit, I've been looking for a cool application for it. Stay tuned :-)

[garyb]

yes you read correctly Neville.
Stainless is a whole new breed of animal compared to what you have been cutting :eek:

[rb99]

I have seen steel cut on cnc and what I saw was very fast and shallow passes.

RIB

[dlcw]

I had to drill a third hole in a new SS sink (24 gauge) I got for my kitchen. New drill bit on the drill press. Small (1/16") pilot hole finished in about 2 minutes - bit shot. During drilling with the larger bit the wooden sacrificial table on my drill press started smoking and I actually saw some flame (water bottle at the ready :D). This was after only going a very little bit into the SS with the drill. Great heat producer and tool life shortener. :(

I had no SS metal hole punch and after pricing them out on Grainger I decided to still have no metal hole punch...:eek:

[erik_f]

You will get a lot of smoke even if there isn't any wood under the piece...that is your bit burning. You need coolant and lube if you even hope to have a good day cutting stainless. Stainless is water jet or plasma territory.

[pro70z28]

Many years ago I had to engrave some SS plates for yardage markers at a golf course. I used a 1/4" carbide endmill and built a clay dam around the edge of the plate (about 3''x6''x .25" plates) and flooded it with coolant. I don't remember the settings anymore only that it was a slow process. But, it did a nice clean job. If I remember right I cut maybe .015" to .020" deep total making several passes to get that deep.

[gundog]

I drill stainless with my milling machine quite often you need to drill fairly slow and feed it fast or it will work harden and burn the bit. There are many grades of stainless and some of it is very hard to machine.

Mike

[Travis Ashford]

Neville,
I would recomend using a laser cutter or waterjet cutter, but if your still keen to have a go, make sure you choose a machine grade stainless steel, they tend to be slightly softer & you will get longer cutter life. You will have to use a lubrication system, I use a unist misting system which hooks up to a compressor & attaches to my machine via magnets, it pumps a continues mist of lubricant at the point, the cutter makes contact with the material. I also make many slow, shallow passes to extend my cutter life.

Cutting & engraving stainless steel can be extremely frustrating, especially when a customer wants it yesterday, allow plenty of time.

Travis Ashford
Braille Sign Supplies
www.braillesignsupplies.com.au (http://www.braillesignsupplies.com.au)

[dubliner]

Thanks all, you talked me out of it and for for the first time, wisely I listened. We're going to try brass and make plates to attach to the SS instead. Thanks for everyones input.

[ATX Poly Products]

I did a run of 16 of these last week in stainless. Would I do it again? Maybe not... The font was easy with a 1/16 2 Flute 90 degree at .005 deep. The grooves were a little bit of a pain. They were .016 deep and I did them in 3 passes with a 1/4 ball 2 flute at .1 IPS. The material was 16 gauge. This photo was a sample. The 3 grooves ran into a 7/8 hole in the real parts.

They were Motor cut-out Switch plates for trolley cars in San Francisco...

[frank134]

Neville I have cut s.s. The best way we have found is with are plasma cutter. It very hard to even drill. If it was me I pass it up. we do when we can. Hope this help. by the way even are small 120 volt plasma cutter will cut it.