What are Brass Turned Parts??

Brass is a non-ferrous material that is used to manufacture a range of precision turned parts for various industries across the globe. This material is extremely appealing to engineers as it machines with ease and is ideal for the production of high-volume components due to its low tool wear properties. Many different grades are produced for applications including home & leisure, gas industry and marine. Some of these include CW614N, CW602N & CW606N amongst many others.

Turned components are machined from brass on both conventional and CNC machinery in both low to high volume. Machining operations such as turning, boring and drilling are common practice along with tapping. Newer machines allow brass components to be milled due to the addition of having live-tooling. This capability allows for the production of complex shaped components that are aesthetically appealing to consumers. By this, i mean for decorative components such as door knobs etc.

I hope this post gives you a clear insight into brass component production and the types of parts that can be manufactured using precision engineering methods.

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Importance of Plastics in Precision Engineering.....

Engineering plastics play a massive part in today's society. Many commonly purchased goods contain precision components that have been manufactured from plastic. Take a washing machine for instance.... Most of the water fittings are manufactured from temperature resistant plastic. These components have more than likely been produced by method of CNC machining. Both Europe and the far-east have an abundance of skilled CNC machining companies focused on machining plastic grades. Experience in machining plastics is growing world wide due to the demand for cheaper to manufacture components as opposed to costly metal parts.

Over the last 10 - 20 years many new grades of engineering plastics have been developed featuring additives to improve machinability. In general the harder the plastic, the easier it is to get the swarf to chip. It is common for glass to be added to nylon in order to improve both strength and machinability. One of the most common grades used in machined components is acetal as it has good all round properties. WRAS approved plastics are used for producing machined parts that may come in contact with drinking water.

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see the development of biodegradable plastics for precision engineered products. This will eliminate the concern for the environment where plastics are concerned. Only time will tell!!

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Steel Turned Components.....

When we talk about steel and it's uses we undoubtedly end up looking at it's application in machined goods. This can range from automotive applications to construction and white goods. The uses for steel is globally mind-blowing and continues to grow as economies develop.

In the CNC Machining industry, steel is the most commonly machined material and comes in many different grades with varying applications. Some of the most common are 230M07PB (free machining grade), 605M36T (high-tensile grade) and 070M20 (case hardening grade).

Turned and machined parts are produced on both conventional and CNC lathes from 3 metre length bars. In the precision engineering industry the bars are generally produced by method of cold drawing through a specially manufactured die allowing the desired size to be attained.

Complex components can be manufactured with the addition of live-tooling on modern CNC lathes. The live-tooling allows for operations such as milling, gear cutting and cross-drilling/tapping.

Thank you for reading!!