metal Archive

Ceramics

graphic design of swiss cnc machined part

Benefits of Using Ceramic as your Machined Parts Material

Using ceramic as your machined part’s material will give your part extraordinary strength, as well as a long-life cycle. Ceramic parts are also corrosion resistant and are conducive to electricity and heat resistant. The downside to ceramic parts is that they tend to chip-out during the machining process. Which causes the machining process to take more time and require greater expertise in machining the material.

Which Industries Use Ceramic Machined Parts

Because of the ceramic part’s conductivity and heat resistance, this material is often used in projects for the electronics, defense, and aerospace. Also, with the recent change in electronics in the automotive industry, we have seen an increase in the use of ceramic parts in our automotive customer’s projects as well.

Our Ceramic Machining Process

We specialize in ceramic machined parts and have perfected the ability to machine them without chipping out. In fact, our customers order rods, connector enclosures, circuit enclosures, and electrical enclosures to all be made out of ceramics.

Part of what makes M&R Engineering different is our array of experience machining. Which allows us to ensure your project is made quickly, within budget, and at a high quality.

Click here to contact us, and begin the process of creating your next project.

Steel

Benefits of Using Steel as your Machined Parts Material

The benefits of using steel for your machined parts include: steel is an inexpensive material, corrosion resistant, can be plated, can be heat treated for additional strength. Steel can also come in a wide range of varieties. Such as leaded, unleaded, low carbon, high carbon, and more. Steel is described on a gradient scale which articulates the amount of carbon, level of impurities, and alloying elements in the metal. There are a few well-known gradients of steel used in machining. These are alloy steel, carbon steel, stainless steel, and tool steel. According to the World Steel Association, there are over 3,500 different grades of steel!

In machining, steel is an excellent material for close tolerances with our ability to create well-defined corners and edges in precision machining. Because of this, steel is ideal for a technically precise project. Steel components also have great resistance to tension-breaking and deformation, this is because of its strength and the hardness of the metal.

Industries that Use Steel Machined Parts

Steel machined parts are often used in the automotive and aerospace industries for items such as strips, rods, and sheets. Utilizing steel allows for more precise dimensions and improved surface qualities. It is a great option for projects that require enhanced aesthetics, as well as ones that require a harder and stronger material. Our defense and recreational customers also frequently use steel machined parts in their precision machining projects.

What is Precision Machining?

Precision Machining is a process to remove material from a workpiece while holding close tolerance finishes. Steel is an excellent material for this work due to its ability to handle the tension. Our precision machines have many types of machining which include: milling, turning, and electrical discharge. We also have precision machines controlled using a Computer Numerical Controls (CNC).

Our Steel Precision Machining Process

M&R Engineering utilizes the precision machining process for some of our steel machined parts projects. We have made steel parts using turning, milling and the Davenport machines. As well as heat treated and plated steel parts. Out of all the materials here at M&R Engineering, we work with steel the most frequently.

The benefit of working with us is the fact that we are your one-stop shop for processing to the production of the parts. M&R Engineering can help you with all levels of steal. From processing it, heat treating the metal, to plating it. In the last few months we have worked on manufacturing steel inserts, connectors, fittings, hydraulics, and post. As well as Davenport machined steel parts such as fluid delivery systems, aftermarket automotive parts, aerospace fluid delivery systems, water fluid delivery systems, and fasteners.

Stainless Steel

Benefits of Using Stainless Steel as your Machined Parts Material

Stainless steel is an alloy made by combining steel and chromium. Making this metal very popular in our screw machine products. The chromium provides the strength, therefore, the amount of chromium added correlates to the strength of the metal. The downside is that stainless steel is heavier than other metals such as aluminum. However, stainless steel is more resistant to corrosion than aluminum is. As well as stronger and more resistant to wear and tear. For example, stainless steel machines parts can handle impact damage and scratches at a much higher capacity.

There are different grades of stainless steel, for example the 300 and 400 series of stainless steel. The 300 series stainless steel are classified as austenitic and are hardenable only by cold working methods. These grades of stainless steel have about 18-30% chromium. An example of a 300 series stainless steel is Nitronic® 60 Austenitic Stainless Steel which falls between that of types 304 and 316.

On the other hand, the 400 series of stainless steel are classified as ferritic and are typically stronger than the 300 series. The 400 series grades of stainless steel have about 11-27% chromium and generally contain chromium and manganese. The 400 series steels are also magnetic.

Stainless Steel Machined Parts – Corrosion Resistance

When comparing stainless steel to other gradients of steel, stainless steel has a longer life span, is typically stronger, more corrosion resistant in the long term, and has better mechanical properties. We also want to point out that stainless steel is one of the hardest metals to machine, and that stainless steel is not corrosion proof. This is a common mistake we see designers make when engineering their part. If you are looking for an extremely corrosion resistant stainless-steel part, make sure to add passivation to your design. Unlike other types of steel, stainless steel does not need to be plated to aid in its corrosion resistance, however it does still need passivation.

Which Industries Use Stainless Steel Machining

Stainless steel machined parts are typically used in screw machine products for the aerospace industries in spaces that require great strength, corrosive environments, and great temperature fluctuations. Common components created from stainless steel are actuators, fasteners, and landing gear. Our medical industry and the space exploration industry customers also frequently use stainless steel for their parts such as bushings, bolts, and spacers.

Our Stainless Steel Machining Process

At M&R Engineering we have worked on all ranges of stainless steel for customers such as the aerospace industry. Out of the steel parts we make, stainless steel is the most frequently used. We have made stainless steel parts with our turning, milling and the Davenport machines.

The benefit of working with us to manufacture your stainless steel machined parts, is the fact that we are your one stop shop for processing to production of the parts. M&R Engineering can help you with all levels of stainless steel. From processing it to plating it. We frequently manufacture stainless steel inserts, connectors, fittings, hydraulics, and posts.

Click here to contact us, and begin the process of creating your next project.

Carbon Fiber

Diverse Plastic high precision CNC Lathe and Mill capabilities

Benefits of Using Carbon Fiber as your Machined Parts Material

In recent years, we have seen an increase in the use of carbon fiber in machined parts. Both carbon fiber and ceramic materials are direct replacements of parts previously machined using aluminum. Carbon fiber has some noteworthy benefits such as its lightweight and its high strength to weight ratio. These benefits attribute to its recent climb in popularity, carbon fiber allows parts to be made with equal strength of aluminum as well as sometimes 50% less weight. However, the disadvantages of carbon fiber are the fact that once you damage it, you have to start over. This rigid aspect of carbon fiber makes it more difficult to machine with and presents unique challenges as well as special machining requirements.

Which Industries Use Carbon Fiber Machined Parts

Aerospace, defense, sports, recreational equipment, boating, and marine customers often utilize carbon fiber in their machined parts. For example, this material has taken off in the bicycling community and our recreational equipment customers have switched to almost solely producing carbon fiber materials for bicycles due to their lightweight.

Our Carbon Fiber Machining Process

M&R Engineering can Turn and Mill carbon fiber parts. A common misconception is that you can also drill through this material, unfortunately, that is not true. Luckily we have an alternative. Drilling is not possible, however, milling a hole through it is. Workarounds such as this are what differentiate M&R Engineering from the rest. We are a strategic partner for you and will assist you through the process of ensuring your project is machining friendly and cost-efficient.

We have a team of manufacturing professionals who are here to help. They focus on helping you create a project that is high quality and within budget.

Click here to contact us, and begin the process of creating your next project.

Aluminum

Benefits of Using Aluminum as your Machined Parts Material

To start with, aluminum machined parts are some of the strongest and most lightweight parts available. Aluminum is also great to work with due to its high ductility. In addition, compared to titanium it is relatively inexpensive. Finally, the fact that aluminum machining has the capability to withstand high temperatures and pressures.

Another benefit to note is its highly corrosion-resistant nature. This is due to aluminum’s tight chemical oxide bond. Which means that when it is exposed to the environment it is sealed. Another benefit of this metal is that raw aluminum is highly conductive for electrical purposes. This also allows it to be utilized in electrical applications.

Aluminum also has a high removal rate and can be finished with a multitude of options. It can be plated with electroless nickel, zinc, or anodized.

Industries that use Aluminum Machined Parts

Our customers in the aerospace, automotive, home improvement, defense, and building industries typically use aluminum in their parts. Specifically, for hydraulic parts, fittings, fluid control, and aluminum fluid delivery parts. We have also seen an increase in the use in aluminum for parts such as carbon-reinforced polymers, and honeycomb materials due to their light weight specifically needed for aircraft in the aerospace industry.

Our Aluminum Machining Process

Specifically, here at M&R engineering, we specialize in making aluminum parts such as hose clamps, hydraulics, connectors electrical (plated), and fittings. We utilize both our milling and turning machines to manufacture these parts. Both options (milling and turning) are great options for aluminum parts depending on the specifications of the project. We can run mill-turn on our Lathe and Swiss equipment in order to deliver the optimum pricing available for you and your project. We specialize in combining multiple operations into one in order to cut down on timing and costs.

Copper

Benefits of Using Copper as your Machined Parts Material

Copper is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Therefore, copper machined parts are known for their non-sparking properties, corrosion resistance and is the best electrical conductor with a relatively low cost. In addition, copper parts have high ductility, excellent joining and plating characteristics. They can be plated with electroless nickel and gold for example which help with the corrosion resistance. Another benefit is that copper has non-magnetic properties which are important in some designs. Fun fact about copper is that it is one of the few metals that can occur in nature in a directly usable metallic form, meaning you can find copper our in nature and use it without any chemical treatments needing to be done beforehand.

There are a few downsides to copper because it is a soft malleable metal, it is not as strong compared to other options. We recommend that when our customers are looking for strength that they consider brass. Brass has almost the same conductivity but with the addition of zinc, brass is much stronger than copper.

Industries that Use Brass Machined Parts

Due to copper’s excellent conductivity and malleability, it is commonly used in the aerospace and commercial electronic industries, as well as in defense and military projects. For example, for our commercial electronic customers, we make copper connectors and fittings.

SWISS Lathe

Our SWISS Lathe capabilities are a great option for customers who want to use copper for their machined components. This is because it is resistant to corrosion and also has thermal conductivity properties. Popular engineering applications include hydraulic tubing and valves. At M&R Engineering we have over 20 machines available with a wide variety of electrical connectors. We have run parts smaller than 1/8 of an inch up to parts ¾ of an inch with close tolerances.

Brass

Using Brass as your Machined Parts Material

There are many benefits in working with brass as a material for your machined parts. For starters, brass is easy to machine which makes this material more cost efficient for CNC machining services. This is due to the fact that brass machined parts can be made faster and more efficiently than other metal material precision parts. In addition, brass itself is an alloy of copper and zinc. The proportions of the two materials can vary in order to achieve the mechanical or electrical properties you are seeking. This is a unique benefit for engineers when they are looking for a specific property in their material.

Benefits of Brass Machined Parts

Some other key benefits of brass machined parts include the fact that brass is resistant to corrosion. This makes it a great option for cold working, hot working, and casting. As well as the fact that these parts are able to be brazed and enameled. They also have a low coefficient of friction which makes this metal multifunctional across the mechanical spectrum. Another benefit is that brass has the ability to have decorative work done to it, which means you can plate brass easily.

Industries that Use Brass Machined Parts

We find that our aerospace, automotive, and builder customers utilize brass machined parts frequently. For example, builders use brass parts for locks, fittings, pipping, and many other parts needs to build homes, and structures.

CNC Machining Services

In M&R Engineering’s CNC machining services, we commonly see brass machined parts used for steam and hydraulic castings, valves, conduit, gears, statues, fasteners, tubing, and inserts. Brass parts can also be used without a surface finish which helps save on cost and delivery time. What is unique about M&R Engineering, is that we will help you throughout your design to build process. Using our expertise in machining, to help you reduce costs for your parts while maintaining a high level of quality.