What Are The Difficulties In Processing Stainless Steel Plates?

What are the difficulties in processing stainless steel plates?

What are the difficulties in processing ordinary stainless steel plates? , but it will cause everyone a headache when processing. Its material is extremely strong and has poor thermal conductivity, causing the tool to wear out at an alarming rate. A machine tool must be replaced after only a few days of operation, which makes workers exhausted and costly. Many factories are therefore wary of it and dare not get involved easily.

Reasons for high cutting force and high temperature

The strength of stainless steel is much higher than that of carbon steel. When cutting, the tangential stress is relatively large, and the plastic deformation is very significant. What this shows is that the force on the tool tip will be greater, and more thrust is needed to complete the cutting action.

Cutting makes it difficult for heat to escape, and poor thermal conductivity is the key. The high temperature is concentrated near the cutting edge of the tool, and the temperature in the narrow area can reach seven or eight hundred degrees, where the tool is subjected to great thermal shock.

How to solve the sticking problem

On the rake face, when strong chips flow, the high temperature causes the chips and the tool to bond, even to the extent of welding. This phenomenon, called tool sticking, has a direct impact on the roughness of the machined surface.

After the knife is stuck, its surface will show grooves and burrs, which requires an additional grinding process for processing. In order to reduce the occurrence of tool sticking, some factories have no choice but to reduce the cutting speed. However, this slows down the production efficiency.

Why does tool wear accelerate?

Stainless steel often contains elements with high melting points, which have greater plasticity, so the temperature is higher during cutting. These factors combine to cause the tool to wear much faster than ordinary steel.

As soon as the knife is applied, the tool becomes dull and stagnant. Why is the cost of stainless steel machining so high? Knife sharpening and tool changing are repeated in the same manner, which not only increases the cost of the tool, but also takes up a lot of processing time. The cost of cutting tools in multiple factories can reach more than 30% of the total processing cost.

Choosing the right tool is key

Generally, high-speed steel cutting tools are not resistant to high temperatures. When processing stainless steel, problems will soon occur. Carbide cutting tools are relatively more suitable. They have the characteristics of high hardness and good heat resistance. They are the mainstream choice in this industry.

The effect of coated tools is even more prominent. Tools with diamond coating or TiAlN coating can significantly and significantly reduce friction, thereby extending the service life of the tool. Although its unit price is relatively expensive, its service life is long, which makes the overall cost lower.

Cutting parameters need to be adjusted

When performing cutting operations, the cutting speed cannot be directly applied to the relevant parameters of carbon steel, but needs to be reduced to a range between one quarter and one third of the same parameters of carbon steel. In addition, the feed amount should also be reduced appropriately so that the cutting force will not be too large.

During rough machining, the cutting depth can be appropriately increased, while during finishing, the cutting amount must be reduced to ensure surface quality. Reasonable parameter settings can balance efficiency and quality, thereby reducing tool wear.

Cooling methods cannot be ignored

Having a sufficient amount of coolant can effectively reduce the temperature generated during cutting, thereby reducing tool wear. Among them, the high-pressure internal cooling method is used, which has the most ideal effect. The coolant will be sprayed directly towards the cutting area.

Automobile coolant can wash away chips, thereby reducing the occurrence of tool sticking. Some factories add additives with extreme pressure effects to the coolant to improve the cutting conditions to a greater extent and protect the surface of the tool.

What do you think is the most prominent difficulty in stainless steel processing? You are warmly welcome to share your personal experience in the comment area. If you feel that this article is helpful to you, please remember to like it and forward it to more peers!