Metal is everywhere in our daily life. When you wake up in the morning, you wanna treat yourself a good breakfast. Then you need a non-stick frying-pan to cook. Also you may use bowls, knives and forks which are made of metal. What a important role the metal plays in our life. To a manufacturing person, a bunch of metals are what rock our world. CNC metal machining is commonly used in prototyping. Here are some tips of CNC Metal Machining.
What is CNC Metal Machining?
Without the means to shape metals, these metals are not worth a wood nickel. The most important of these is machining. Over the past 150 years, machine tools have evolved from crude oil wheels and steam drives to the high-tech, ultra-precision computer numerical control (CNC) equipment.
The CNC Metal Machining is the automation of the machine and the pre-programmed software is executed by the computer to indicate the movement machining metals. CNC metal machining is the best choice for one-off custom parts, allowing you to machine almost any piece of metal material based on your 3D CAD data.
WayKen offers CNC milling, CNC turning, drilling and tapping for all kinds of metal materials. CNC metal machining is best suited for rapid prototyping, forming and fit testing, jigs and fixtures, and functional components for end-use applications, also a easy and fast way for customizing low volme production.
What are the Commonly used Metal Materials for CNC Machining?
Aluminum
Aluminum is the most widely used non-ferrous metal. Aluminum is a soft, durable, lightweight and malleable metal that looks from silver to dark grey, depending on the surface finish. Aluminum naturally produces a protective oxide coating and is highly resistant to corrosion.
Magnesium alloy
Magnesium alloy is an another popular lightweight metal material. Magnesium is a preferred material as long as the parts need good strength and low weight. Magnesium is most often alloying with aluminum and zinc.It has excellent damping characteristics, is highly processable and easy to mold or die casting.
Zinc alloy
Zinc alloy has low melting point, good fluidity, easy fusion welding, corrosion resistance in the atmosphere, and easy recycling and remelting of residual waste. The casting performance of zinc is good, and the precision parts with thin shapes and thin walls can be die-casting. The surface of the casting is smooth.
Carbon steel
Carbon steel is usually cheaper than stainless steel, but stronger and tougher. It is easy to machine and weld, and can be hardened to some extent and heat treated to achieve various hardnesses. There is only one problem: they rust, making plating or painting a requirement for most carbon steel applications.
Stainless steel
Stainless steel is an iron alloy with a chromium content of at least 10.5 percent, which greatly enhances its corrosion resistance. Other alloying elements are added to enhance its structure and properties such as formability, strength and low temperature toughness. It is resistant to corrosion and staining, and its low maintenance and familiar gloss make it an ideal material for many applications that require both the strength and corrosion resistance of steel.
Copper
Copper is second only to silver in terms of electrical conductivity, making it one of the most important metals used today. Copper (and aluminum) wiring can basically generate electricity. Without it, the lights will remain unlit, the car will not run, and it is impossible to mix frozen Margaritas. It is brazed easily but difficult to weld. Its extreme ductility makes it both strong and flexible, rarely seen in metals.
Brass
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. It is a very soft metal that can usually be machined without lubrication. It is also very suitable at room temperature, so it often finds applications that do not require much strength. There are many kinds of brass, depending largely on the percentage of zinc. As this percentage increases, the corrosion resistance decreases. It can be welded, but the most common ones are low temperature processes such as brazing or welding. Another feature of brass is that it does not generate sparks when struck with another metal, so it can be used in tools in potentially explosive environments.
Titanium
Titanium is known to have high strength, light weight, toughness and corrosion resistance. It can be welded, passivated and anodized to enhance protection and improve its appearance. Titanium is not particularly well polished and is a poor electrical conductor, but a good thermal conductor. It is a hard material that can only be used with professional cutting machines. And it has a very high melting point as well.
What are the advantages of CNC Metal Machining?
More automated than conventional
Compared with traditional production methods, the main difference and benefit of using CNC metal machining is that more machining processes are automated, reducing the occurrence of human error and meeting people’s need for higher precision. The automation used in CNC metal machining results in higher machining efficiency, faster speed, higher production speed, and less error space, making CNC metal machining reduce the cost of many companies.
Different types of CNC Metal Machining
CNC turning enables the creation of complex external and internal geometries. For example, CNC turning and CNC milling. In the CNC turning process, raw materials are processed as the machining progresses, making it possible to create “complex external and internal geometries, including the generation of various threads”. CNC milling is better for making holes, grooves, and repetitive motions to create complex three-dimensional shapes. Besides, WayKen provides drilling and tapping for a variety of metal materials.
Convenient and efficient
Since the CNC machining process is efficient and computer-driven, it is easy to mass produce. You only need to get multiple machines running on the same program. For many companies, how to scale while maintaining good profit margins is a challenge. CNC machining has a storage function, so you don’t have to worry about reloading the program every time, and you don’t have to re-enter the command every time. Many of the benefits of CNC machining make it the manufacturer’s best choice.
Concluding Remarks
WayKen CNC metal machining services provide you with a full range of services, and our team will carefully analyze your project and process it with the most efficient machined metal process to optimize your time and cost. We’ll be pleased to provide you with the best solution when you upload your CAD files for a quote.
