Tool Steel Supplier

Metal shafts used in high-speed applications require a large amount of precision. If the shafts have rough finishes or lack concentricity and straightness, premature wearing of either the shaft or bearing being used can occur. In order to achieve the high level of precision required, steel shaft manufacturers often use a process called turned, ground and polished. This process involves – as the name implies – three important steps that converts a coarse, roughly dimensioned metal rod to a shaft with a straight and smooth finish. Turned: First, oversized steel rods are placed into a lathe chuck and tightened, and a cutting tool is placed in the tool holder on the lathe. The lathe is then started and the rod begins to spin. Once the steel rod reaches the desired speed, the cutting tool is fed into the rod which begins the process. The turning continues until the steel rod is brought down to the desired size. Multiple passes may have to be made with the cutting tool depending on h...

While metal is generally hard and tough, it is still able to be cut by several different processes. Understanding what the processes are and which option is best suited for specific metal types and projects is important when determining how to cut metal. Here are some common ways to cut metal. Thermal Cutting Processes There are several different thermal cutting processes that can be used to cut metal. These processes use an energy source to heat specific portions of the metal and cause it to become liquid. At that point, the molten metal is blown away from the rest of the solid metal, creating a cut. Thermal cutting is preferred over other processes in certain applications because of the speed in which the metal can be cut. Flame cutting is one example of a thermal cutting process. For example, oxy-fuel flame cutting uses the combination of oxygen and a fuel such as acetylene or propylene to create a flame that melts the metal. The flow of the oxy-fuel gas mixture is also use...