xiehe model

Depending on the purpose of your project, you can choose from a variety of materials that are compatible with CNC milling technology. Since your project requires CNC machining for production, most will have to deal with the CNC material options for the project. CNC machining offers the ability to machine almost most metal or plastic production parts. With such a wide range of options, choosing the right material becomes very challenging. To help you eliminate these challenges, we Xiehe company have curated the most comprehensive material selection guide for you to have a successful custom manufacturing project. As the name suggests, CNC materials are those that are compatible with CNC machining processes. In CNC machining, there are many material properties that make the machining process easy for the project and the project owner. Examples of such properties include workability, yield strength, tensile stress, hardness, and the like.

With these factors in mind, CNC machining becomes easy. Let’s dive into important considerations for material selection below.

When considering materials, the first thing to do is to prioritize your project requirements. It's important to start this part of your project with the must-haves and drill down your research down to the identifiable goodies. There is a good chance that this approach will help you narrow down your material choices to a workable number. As far as your project is concerned, this will help you and your team make more informed choices, and here are some important factors you can consider on your priority list.

envirnmental factor

For many manufacturers in the machining field, this should be the absolute most important requirement. These environment-related factors depend on the purpose of the part you are producing. These factors include cold or heat resistance, chemical resistance, UV resistance, flame retardancy, and more. Another application is that your part must be medical grade or food grade, all these factors are very important, depending on the application of your part. For example, components used in medical services must be able to withstand harsh chemical sterilization or the high temperatures of an autoclave.

Mechanical factor

For CNC machining, the strength of the material used depends on the application. Interestingly, the material comes in many forms. For example, the parts needed to form a particular application may need to be installed anywhere on a continuum from rigid to flexible. Such considerations may involve consideration of tensile strength, yield strength, combined strength, or the material must be able to resist impact. This is relevant to the application of such a segment. Others include wear resistance and more.

Application factor

Another important factor to consider when selecting a part material is the end use of the part. For example, steel and stainless steel are great for CNC machining, but in other respects stainless steel is more resistant to corrosion than steel. The wrong choice in this case can have a detrimental effect on the lifespan of your parts. With this in mind, another factor to keep in mind is the FAA, FDA, and industry-specific regulations.

Electrical factor

This is another application factor. Components may need to be insulators, conductors, or dissipate static electricity. In fact, the choice of material will depend on this. And this choice is very important so that the project goals at hand are not abandoned.

Weight coefficient

The weight of such materials is very important before choosing a material for the project at hand. For example, parts for automobiles and aerospace must be light enough. Interestingly, the CNC machining space offers a wide variety of materials compatible with these applications. Another consideration here is that manufacturers can decide to save weight by considering plastics like ABS, especially when they can sacrifice strength.

Budget factor

In some cases, material cost primarily affects material selection. The goal of every manufacturer is to select materials that both minimize expenses and maximize the desired material properties and properties. Material cost is important in CNC machining projects because of the large amount of scrap generated by the process. . For example, some materials called specialty metals are very expensive and can have a significant impact on the cost of the materials used. Therefore, manufacturers need to carefully evaluate their budgets before deciding on CNC materials for their projects.