Stainless steel offers many material advantages in a range of industrial applications, but the machining technique chosen can affect the quality and integrity of parts made from this versatile metal.
This article evaluates the rationale for the use of stainless steel in a range of parts and assemblies, and looks at the role of photochemical etching as a processing technology that can enable the production of innovative and high-precision end-use products.
Why choose stainless steel?Stainless steel is essentially a mild steel with a chromium content of 10% or more (by weight).The addition of chromium gives the steel its unique stainless-steel, corrosion-resistant properties.The chromium content of the steel allows the formation of a tough, adherent, invisible, corrosion-resistant chromium oxide film on the steel surface.If damaged mechanically or chemically, the film can repair itself, provided oxygen is present (even in very small amounts).
The corrosion resistance and other useful properties of steel are enhanced by increasing the chromium content and adding other elements such as molybdenum, nickel and nitrogen.
Stainless steel has many advantages.First, the material is corrosion resistant, and chromium is the alloying element that gives stainless steel this quality.Low-alloy grades resist corrosion in atmospheric and pure water environments; high-alloy grades resist corrosion in most acid, alkaline solutions, and chlorine-containing environments, making their properties useful in processing plants.
Special high chromium and nickel alloy grades resist scaling and maintain high strength at high temperatures.Stainless steel is widely used in heat exchangers, superheaters, boilers, feedwater heaters, valves and mainstream piping, as well as in aircraft and aerospace applications.
Cleaning is also a very important issue.Stainless steel’s ability to be easily cleaned has made it the first choice for stringent hygienic conditions such as hospitals, kitchens and food processing plants, and stainless steel’s easy-to-maintain bright finish provides a modern and attractive appearance.
Finally, when considering cost, considering material and production costs as well as life cycle costs, stainless steel is often the cheapest material option and is 100% recyclable, completing the entire life cycle.
Photochemically etched micro-metal “etch groups” (including HP Etch and Etchform) etch a wide variety of metals with precision unmatched anywhere in the world.Processed sheets and foils range in thickness from 0.003 to 2000 µm.However, stainless steel remains the first choice for many of the company’s customers due to its versatility, the multitude of grades available, the large number of related alloys, the favorable material properties (as described above), and the large number of finishes.It is the metal of choice for many applications in a wide range of industries, specializing in machining 1.4310: (AISI 301), 1.4404: (AISI 316L), 1.4301: (AISI 304) and micro-metals of well-known austenitic metals, various ferritic, ma Tensitic (1.4028 Mo/7C27Mo2) or duplex steels, Invar and Alloy 42.
Photochemical etching (the selective removal of metal through a photoresist mask to produce precision parts) has several inherent advantages over traditional sheet metal fabrication techniques.Most importantly, photochemical etching produces parts while eliminating material degradation because no heat or force is used during processing.In addition, the process can produce nearly infinitely complex parts due to the simultaneous removal of component features using etchant chemistry.
The tools used for etching are either digital or glass, so there is no need to start cutting expensive and difficult-to-fit steel molds.This means that a large number of products can be reproduced with absolutely zero tool wear, ensuring that the first and millionth parts produced are identical.
Digital and glass tools can also be adjusted and changed very quickly and economically (usually within an hour), making them ideal for prototyping and high-volume production runs.This allows for “risk-free” design optimization without financial loss.Turnaround time is estimated to be 90% faster than stamped parts, which also require a significant upfront investment in tooling.
Screens, Filters, Screens and Bends The company can etch a range of stainless steel components including screens, filters, screens, flat springs and bend springs.
Filters and sieves are required in many industrial sectors, and customers often require parameters of complexity and extreme precision.The photochemical etching process of micrometal is used to manufacture a range of filters and screens for the petrochemical industry, the food industry, the medical industry and the automotive industry (photoetched filters are used in fuel injection systems and hydraulics due to their high tensile strength ).micrometal has developed its photochemical etching technology to allow precise control of the etching process in 3 dimensions.This facilitates the creation of complex geometries and, when applied to the manufacture of grids and sieves, can significantly reduce lead times.Additionally, special features and various aperture shapes can be included in a single grid without increasing cost.
Unlike traditional machining techniques, photochemical etching has a higher level of sophistication in the production of thin and precise stencils, filters and sieves.
Simultaneous removal of metal while etching enables the incorporation of multiple hole geometries without incurring expensive tooling or machining costs, and photo-etched meshes are burr-free and stress-free with material degradation where perforated plates are prone to deformation zero.
Photochemical etching does not alter the surface finish of the material being processed and does not use metal-to-metal contact or heat sources to alter surface properties.As a result, the process can provide a unique high-aesthetic finish on stainless steel, making it suitable for decorative applications.
Photochemically etched stainless steel components are also often used in safety-critical or extreme environment applications – such as ABS braking systems and fuel injection systems – and the etched bend can be perfectly “bent” millions of times because the process does not alter the fatigue strength of the steel .Alternative machining techniques such as machining and routing often leave small burrs and recast layers that can affect spring performance.
Photochemical etching eliminates potential fracture sites in the material grain, producing burr-free and recast layer bending, ensuring long product life and higher reliability.
Summary Steel and stainless steel have a range of properties that make them ideal for many pan-industrial applications.Although seen as a relatively simple material to process through traditional sheet metal fabrication techniques, photochemical etching offers manufacturers significant advantages when producing complex and safety-critical parts.
Etching does not require hard tooling, allows rapid production from prototype to high volume manufacturing, offers virtually unlimited part complexity, produces burr- and stress-free parts, does not affect metal tempering and properties, works on all grades of steel, and reaches Accuracy of ±0.025 mm, all lead times are in days, not months.
The versatility of the photochemical etching process makes it a compelling choice for manufacturing stainless steel parts in numerous rigorous applications, and stimulates innovation as it removes the barriers inherent in traditional sheet metal fabrication techniques for design engineers.
A substance having metallic properties and consisting of two or more chemical elements, at least one of which is a metal.
The filamentous portion of material that forms at the edge of a workpiece during machining.Often sharp.It can be removed by hand files, grinding wheels or belts, wire wheels, abrasive fiber brushes, water jet equipment, or other methods.
The ability of an alloy or material to resist rust and corrosion.These are properties of nickel and chromium formed in alloys such as stainless steel.
A phenomenon that results in fracture under repeated or fluctuating stress with a maximum value less than the tensile strength of the material.Fatigue fracture is progressive, starting with tiny cracks that grow under fluctuating stress.
The maximum stress that can be sustained without failure for a specified number of cycles, unless otherwise stated, the stress is fully reversed within each cycle.
Any manufacturing process in which metal is worked or machined to give a workpiece a new shape.Broadly, the term includes processes such as design and layout, heat treatment, material handling and inspection.
Stainless steel has high strength, heat resistance, excellent machinability and corrosion resistance.Four general categories have been developed to cover a range of mechanical and physical properties for specific applications.The four grades are: CrNiMn 200 series and CrNi 300 series austenitic type; chromium martensitic type, hardenable 400 series; chromium, non-hardenable 400 series ferritic type; Precipitation-hardenable chromium-nickel alloys with additional elements for solution treatment and age hardening.
In a tensile test, the ratio of the maximum load to the original cross-sectional area.Also called ultimate strength.Compare with yield strength.