[Stoves] More on the Alternatives to Charcoal

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Metal processing friends

 

>Due to the HAZ (Heat Affected Zone) and reflective nature of SS, you might
want to also look at AWJ (Abrasive Water Jet), which is slower and generates
a wider kerf, but has zero HAZ and doesn't care about reflectivity.
Usually, AWJ cut parts are stacked MANY deep since AWJ is more efficient as
the parts get thicker.



If you want lower cost production, CNC punching is the way to get as a
half-way point between laser cutting and a custom made blanking tool. CNC
punching can make holes up to 110mm and can make circles using a small
curved tool.  A decent tool shop will have more than 1500 punches of various
shapes and sizes that can be used in combination. Remember that a decent
FANUC will have 2 stations that can rotate the tools any number of degrees.
There is no HAZ though there is a burr on one side.

 

If you pressing the parts afterwards, the burr can be placed selectively not
to bite in to the form so it de-moulds easily. The same applies to stainless
steel which has been laser cut. There is a small hardened burr on the
underside and it is usually worth selecting which way up that burr faces
when pressing.

 

There are different water jetting methods but it is more expensive than
lasers in my experience and much slower. Even with water and grit it is not
competitive.


>Another option is plasma cutting, often cheaper than laser, it has a wider
kerf than laser, but is a cheap system to maintain and run.  

There are several plasma systems one of which is high definition giving (for
our purposes) enough resolution for anything to do with a stove. It should
only be used if a CNC punch can't do that particular shape (and a punch with
multiple strokes can do a lot.

 

If anyone would like to have SS or other parts sourced from South Africa
where ample production capacity exists let me know and I will connect you to
one of several production options.

 

Regards

Crispin

New Dawn Engineering

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