CNC archivos — ProtoFrance

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There are hundreds of metal alloys available for CNC machining. Which one is best for your next project depends on a number of factors, including price, workability, corrosion resistance, strength, weight and aesthetic appearance. To help you choose, here’s a closer look at the ones we use every day and what benefits they may have for your next project.

Aluminum 7075

7075 is a superior grade of aluminum, alloyed primarily with zinc. It is one of the strongest aluminum alloys, with excellent strength that allows it to regain its original shape when cold formed. 7075 is machinable and can be anodized.

7075 often hardens to T6. However, it is a poor choice for welding and should be avoided in most cases. We typically use 7075 T6 to make plastic injection molds. It is also used for high-strength equipment, such as automotive and aircraft frames and other stressed parts.

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It is a very soft metal and can often be machined without lubrication. It is also highly functional at room temperature, so it is often used in applications that do not require high strength. There are many types of brass, depending largely on the percentage of zinc. As this percentage increases, corrosion resistance decreases.

Brass has a high luster and closely resembles gold, which is why it is often found in cosmetic applications. Brass is electrically conductive but not magnetic, can be soldered and can be easily recycled. Another characteristic of brass is that it does not spark when struck with another metal, which is why it is used in tools in potentially explosive environments. Interestingly, brass has natural antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, and its use in this regard is still under study.

Brass is common in plumbing fixtures, decorative home hardware, zippers, marine hardware and musical instruments.

Magnesium AZ31

AZ31 magnesium is an alloy with aluminum and zinc. It is up to 35% lighter than aluminum, with equivalent strength, but it is also slightly more expensive.

Magnesium is easy to machine, but it is very flammable, especially in powder form, so a liquid lubricant must be used for CNC machining. Magnesium can be anodized to improve its corrosion resistance. It is also highly stable as a structural material and is an excellent choice for die casting.

AZ31 magnesium is often used for aircraft components where light weight and high strength are most desirable, and can also be found in power tool housings, laptop cases and camera bodies.

303 Stainless Steel

There are many varieties of stainless steel, named for the addition of chromium that helps deter oxidation (rust). Because all stainless steels look alike, great care should be taken to test incoming raw material with metrology equipment such as OES detectors to confirm the characteristics of the steel you are using.

To improve its CNC machining, sulfur is added, but it also reduces its corrosion protection.

303 is not a good choice for cold forming (bending), nor can it be heat treated. The presence of sulfur also means it is not a good choice for welding. It has excellent machining properties, but care must be taken with speeds/feeds and sharpness of cutting tools.

303 is often used for stainless steel nuts and bolts, fittings, shafts and gears. However, it should not be used for marine grade fittings.

304 Stainless Steel

This is the most common form of stainless steel, found in a wide variety of consumer and industrial products. Often called 18/8, this refers to the addition of 18% chromium and 8% nickel to the alloy. These two elements also make the material especially tough and non-magnetic.

304 is easy to machine, but unlike 303 it can be welded. It is also more resistant to corrosion in most normal (non-chemical) environments. In machining it must be processed with very sharp cutting tools and not contaminated with other metals.

Stainless steel 304 is an excellent choice for kitchen accessories and cutlery, tanks and pipes used in industry, formula architecture and automotive moldings.

316 Stainless Steel

The addition of molybdenum makes 316 even more resistant to corrosion, so it is often considered a marine-grade stainless steel. It is also tough and easy to weld.

316 is used in architectural and marine fittings, for industrial pipes and tanks, automotive moldings and kitchen cutlery.

1045 carbon steel

This is a common grade of mild steel, i.e. non-stainless. It is usually less expensive than stainless steels, but is considerably stronger and tougher. It is easy to machine and weld, and can be hardened and tempered to obtain different hardnesses.

Steel 1045 (in the European standard, C45) is used in many industrial applications, for nuts and bolts, gears, shafts, connecting rods and other mechanical parts that require a higher degree of toughness and strength than stainless steel. It is also used in architecture, but if exposed to the environment, it is necessary to treat its surface to prevent oxidation.

Titanium

Titanium is known for its high strength, light weight, toughness and corrosion resistance. It can be welded, passivated and anodized to increase protection and improve its appearance. Titanium does not polish particularly well, is a poor conductor of electricity but a good conductor of heat. It is a hard material to machine and special tools must be used.

Titanium is generally biocompatible and has a very high melting point. Although it is more expensive than other metals in commercial form, it is actually very abundant in the earth’s crust but difficult to refine.

Titanium works well for metal 3D printing(sintered). It has applications in aerospace, military, biomedical and industrial fields, where it resists heat and corrosive acids well.

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Rapid prototypes help you test your design appearance and performance. You can test multiple material options and evaluate your potential market without a large investment in time and money.

Once you are satisfied with your product and are ready to move from prototypes to production, there are several things to make sure of to ensure that the transition to larger volumes is smooth. From PROTOSPAIN we give you five tips to help you optimize the process of bringing your product to market.

1. Choose the right manufacturing process

Metal products

Metal prototypes are generally made by CNC machining or metal 3D printing. Although excellent for some types of prototypes, metal 3D printing is not suitable for production in many cases. Although the technology is advancing, it is still too slow and expensive for larger volumes unless you require complex geometries and lightweight parts.

Most metal prototypes are made by CNC machining and this is a good way to scale volumes over time as demand increases.

For high volume manufacturing, consider die casting. This is the fastest and most economical way to make large batches of identical metal parts. Note that there are design rules for fabrication that must be followed for casting, and you will need to invest in a production tool. But this cost can be recovered in a large production order.

For flat parts, they can opt for laser cutting, which in turn can be bent into three-dimensional shapes. Another technology is stamping and embossing.

Plastic products

If the prototype was made in plastic, it was probably made by 3D printing, CNC machining, polyurethane vacuum casting(Injection molding in silicone molds) or Reaction Injection Molding (RIM) if they are large parts. For larger volumes in plastic, the ideal solution is plastic injection molding.

If the prototype was made in plastic, it was probably made by 3D printing, CNC machining or polyurethane vacuum casting(Injection molding in silicone molds). For larger volumes in plastic, the ideal solution is plastic injection molding.

Injection molding, like die casting, requires strict adherence to design rules that do not come into play when using rapid prototyping techniques. These include the use of ribs and protrusions, minimum wall thickness dimensions, demolding angles, injection point positions, slides, ejector pins and many other considerations.

Therefore, product developers must ensure that their plans take into account the additional cost and time-to-market involved in a transition from one process to another.

2. Prepare a bill of materials (BOM)

Prototypes generally involve only a few finished parts and these have a high unit price.

When it is time to go to production, every element of the assembly must be considered. Every nut, bolt and screw, rubber button or metal clip, even the amount of paint or glue, should be accounted for as a separate cost. More components mean a more complex supply chain, so it pays to keep the design as simple as possible.

Finally, a detailed bill of materials can help you evaluate the amount of labor involved in the assembly process, which can be a significant cost factor.

3. Choose the right material

Sometimes, a prototype is made of an expensive or “exotic” material. This is done to make it a showpiece or to help with a marketing or funding campaign. But exotic materials are not a good choice for high-volume manufacturing.

You should consider using the most common raw materials. They will be less expensive and easier and faster to acquire. More importantly, manufacturers have more experience working with stock materials, so it will be easier to control the process parameters for more reliable results.

4. Choose the right surface finish

A carefully sanded, polished and hand-painted prototype with a custom color certainly looks great. But is that practical on a large scale? Elaborate surface finishes tend to require a lot of attention to detail and careful handwork, something that is not always possible for mass production.

If you need specialized finishing processes, we recommend that you find ways to automate or adhere to one or two finishes rather than multiple finishes. For aluminum parts, anodizing is an attractive and very durable surface treatment and parts can be processed in batches as required without compromising any minimum volume.

5. Certification and testing plan

Unlike prototypes, production parts for commercial sale must be certified under a variety of safety and regulatory schemes. This will depend on many factors, including the environment in which the product is used, whether it runs on electricity and the country where it is sold.

You should be prepared to send finished products to different organizations to obtain certifications and estimate the time and expense of this necessary step.

Tag: CNC

How to choose the right material for CNC machining

TIPS FOR MOVING FROM PROTOTYPING TO MASS PRODUCTION