Consider the Material
Starting with thick-walled, seamless tubes instead of solid barstock makes better sense for certain stainless cylindrical parts.
Tests to machine ball valve seats like the photo on the left revealed a production time savings of 4 hours per batch of 20 components when using thick-walled, seamless tubes versus solid barstock.
For many turning applications, conventional thinking suggests work should begin with solid barstock. However, Sandvik Material Technology thinks this might not be the most efficient or cost-effective way to produce a cylindrical part from stainless steel, especially if the completed part has a large bore. Instead, the company says its Hollow Bar line of thick-walled, seamless stainless tubes might make more sense for these applications because it can reduce tooling costs and lower overall part costs while eliminating some machining operations. Learn more.
