Machining 440C Stainless

[JeremyV]

So, outside of the "tool steel" type stainless for this grade, can we use a diamond saw to machine a slot?

 

Or....other recommendations?

 

We are trying to do a slot going  .98dp on a .625dia shaft.

 

Already scrapped 2 parts; we didn't know what material it was in the first place and didn't realize till the magnet told us and after breaking 5 endmills.  Fun times.

 

Sure drawings should have and show material grade, but it was nowhere to be found.  had to ask Engineering in person and they told me 440C.  Fun.

 

So... suggestions or should this have been EDM'ed inthe first place?

 

-JD

[Guyinthedesert]

has it been heat treated? If so, to what?

[JeremyV]

No information on heat treating.  An outside vendor machined the cylinder part of the body.

 

I'm going to go ahead and say the parts were not heat treated.

 

The part looks like this: there is a .25 wide by .600 deep slot followed by a .105 wide by 1.58dp slot ( only need .98 deeper from bottom of .600 deep slot )  The .105 slot intersects a 1/4-20 tapped hole and the OAL is 2.1" long.

 

I was told it is possible to machine with a 5" dia X .102 HSS saw with this but it would have to go as slow as a snail...

[JeremyV]

Okay so now management tells me the material was flame hardened after i asked.  I asked how much, he told me all over.

 

/sigh.

 

So now the plan is to remove the .625 dia shaft and keep the .380dia portion of the parts.

 

/sigh + eyeroll.

 

Sometimes i swear our mfg practices are still in the stone age.

[htm01]

wire EDM

[JeremyV]

wire EDM

That would've been nice - except the project manager was so lazy he waited till the last minute and these were supposed to ship friday and at the last minute, the EDM people informed us 3 weeks so, we had to do it at the fault of poor management.  And the worst part was us guys on the floor requested these be done by EDM, even the project manager told us he'd look into it, which I believe never happened for 3 weeks up till they were due.  Go figure.

[greenxman]

sorry to hear that sucks. we go thru that all the time.

 

wire is the way to go.