When it comes to cutsom manufactured metal the difference between stainless steel and steel goes beyond the way it looks. For the purpose of this blog we will concentrate on several areas where the differences between the materials affect production of custom parts:
- Light Reflection - stainless steel is somewhat of a darker metal that looks bright because of the way it reflects off light. The reflective property of the metal causes stainless steel to be harder to cut using a laser. Now the difference in cutting times may be relatively insignificant when dealing with a short run of custom parts. However, when considering larger production runs the time difference in cutting the custom parts out can significantly impact the overall cost of the job.
- Welding - when it comes to the differences between steel and stainless steel in welding stainless steel warps a lot easier than steel. Particular care must be taken with the heat applied to stainless in welding. Also, you must consider how the weld is cleaned and take extra care not to use standard steel cleaning tools to clean the weld or rust will occur over time. These extra precautions with cause the welding process to take longer and be more involved which may effect the pricing on your custom metal parts.
- Cost Impact - The cost of stainless steel is significantly more expensive than standard mild steel. The difference in price effects more than just the bottom line cost per part. It also impacts the availability of the material as well as the likelyhood that it will be stocked by a manufacturer. Since stainless steel is more costly most production floors do not keep a high volume of stock on the material which affects lead times, particularly with larger production runs. Also, most manufacturers will not stock thicker material (over 1/4" thick) in stainless. So production of thicker custom metal parts may have long production times.
- Rust - mild steel rusts! The maintenance on mild steel parts increases as the parts get older and is more exposed to the elements. It is always necessary to treat or finish the surface of mild steel parts in order to prevent rusting. The additional cost of finishing will often make a mild steel part equally expensive as stainless steel on short run custom parts.
When considering the production of your custom metal part consider the differences of the materials you intend to use. Of course the conditions in which you intend to use your parts must always be of consideration (i.e., using a custom metal part outdoors by the ocean? the use of stainless is likely the best bet). It is always wise to do more planning up front on your project and to begin by understanding what custom part requirements you will need.
For more information on materials view Short Run Pro's Material Guide Here.
