I had a job come in for 304 Stainless Steel. No Problem! Or so I thought.
Did some research on speeds and feeds, gave it a shot and, well, long story short: I passed on the job. Having done some research, 304 seems to be a mixed-bag: it CAN be machined but it’s far from a free-machining stainless steel. In fact, most stainless is harder to mill than, say, 1018 or even 4140. But I know it CAN be machined. So I bought some 303 Stainless. It’s easier to machine than 304 but far from “easy”. Doing some research on speeds and feeds (math and spreadsheet shown in the video and available to download at https://nyccnc.com), it cut beautifully! Watch along as we calculate feeds and speeds, discuss tips and tricks for machining stainless steel, then mill some on the Tormach PCNC CNC Mill! If you enjoy this NYC CNC video please hit the like button and share with a friend, it really goes a long way!