10.25″ thick stainless steel
Stainless steel is steel mixed with various amounts of chromium, which adds rust and stain resistance to the steel.
Stainless steel machines easily with an abrasive waterjet without heat or distortion. All grades of stainless steel cut easily with an abrasive waterjet, even those such as 304 that are difficult to machine with other processes.
Material thickness up to 12″ thick can be cut with the waterjet however in the thicker materials the cutting speed gets very slow, down to as slow as .050″ per minute. However that is still much faster than EDM or any other process on that thick of material.
Stainless Steel cuts very well and in fact the block in the image to the left (10.25″ thick stainless steel) actually only had about .020″ variation from the top to the bottom of the cut which is far less than most people would expect from a waterjet cut through this thick of material. It was cut with our 90,000 PSI machine and had a much better cut than could have been expected with the 60,000 machines that most shops use.
Spider Skull Key Fob
Stainless Steel is a really good choice for items such as Jewelry, Logo Badges, Key Fobs and many other uses that you would not wish to rust, or get dull with age. One of the things that makes it so great for things like Key Fobs is that the rubbing action of carrying these items around in your pocket or purse polishes them and the longer you carry them around the shinier they get. They also are very stiff and do not bend easily and do not stain your clothes or skin as aluminum does. It is hard enough that it will not scratch easily as aluminum will.
So, if you have an item that you think would be a good fit, give us a call or drop by and we will be happy to help you determine if Stainless Steel is the best material choice for your parts.