Stainless steel is an alloy steel with a chromium content of 10.5% or more and a carbon content of 1.2% or less. Chromium forms a passive film on the surface, protecting the body and making it less susceptible to rust. It has excellent corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, and heat resistance, and is used in many applications such as machine parts and building foundations. Stainless steel is classified as a difficult-to-cut material. This is due to its low thermal conductivity. In addition, when processing this material, heat is easily generated and concentrates in the cutting tool, easily damaging the tool.
1. Characteristics of Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is an alloy steel with a chromium content of 10.5% or more and a carbon content of 1.2% or less. Chromium forms a passive film on the surface, protecting the body and making it less susceptible to rust. It has excellent corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, and heat resistance, and is used in many applications such as machine parts and building foundations. It is mainly classified as a difficult-to-cut material. This is due to its low thermal conductivity. When processing this material, heat is easily generated and concentrates in the cutting tool, easily damaging the tool. Another reason it is a difficult material to cut is that it undergoes hardening during machining.
Strengths
High corrosion resistance
A very thin passive film is formed on the surface of stainless steel due to the action of chromium. This protects the surface from oxidation and makes it less likely to rust. The corrosion resistance of stainless steels improves as the chromium content increases. Please note that it is not completely rust-proof. It is stronger than steel and is used where durability is required. Austenitic stainless steels such as SUS304 and SUS303 are not magnetic. When you cannot tell the difference between the different steel types just from the appearance, you can use a magnet to determine the type.
High heat resistance
Stainless steel does not lose much tensile strength up to 500°C. However, once the temperature exceeds 500°C, the strength begins to decrease, especially in martensitic and ferritic stainless steels.
High strength
Stainless steel is often more durable than steel and is used in situations where high durability is required.
2. Points to consider
Hard-to-cut material
Stainless steel has a low thermal conductivity. The heat generated during cutting is less likely to escape, putting pressure on the cutting edge of the tool and shortening its lifespan. Additionally, if the material hardens and becomes very hard during processing, it becomes difficult to process. Due to these characteristics, stainless steel is considered a difficult material to process, resulting in high processing costs.
Hydrogen embrittlement
Stainless steel is a material that is susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement, and its durability decreases due to the effects of hydrogen.
3. Steel type
Martensitic stainless steels are stainless steels with a relatively low chromium content (about 13%) and a high carbon content. Examples of this include SUS303 and SUS304. Because it contains less chromium to form an oxide film, its corrosion resistance is inferior to other stainless steels, but it has excellent hardness and wear resistance. It can be hardened and quenched by tempering.
4. Stainless steel processing
We can handle everything from processing supplied materials to processing after purchasing materials. The minimum order quantity is one drawing per unit. We also accept orders for processing and prototyping of custom parts. We also have a mass production system, so please feel free to contact us.
5. Supported technologies
Milling
A machining center is a machine tool that can both process and automatically change tools. Computer control ensures consistently high machining precision. It is used to machine parts with complex shapes.
Polishing
Polishing is possible.
Lathe processing
Lathe processing is a processing method in which cutting, drilling, and turning are done by moving the workpiece. A wide variety of materials and shapes can be processed, but lathe processing is most suitable for processing round objects.
