Stainless steel, aluminium, copper, brass and titanium differ in more than weight, strength or corrosion resistance. They respond differently to forming, heat input, welding and surface finishing. A part therefore cannot be considered apart from its material.
stainlesstec combines knowledge of materials with broad in-house capability – from cutting through forming and welding to surface and assembly. A material requirement thus becomes a process that suits both the part and its application.
In design, a material is often chosen for its eventual function: corrosion resistance, weight, strength, conductivity, hygiene or particular chemical properties may be decisive. In production, further questions arise:
How does the material cut?
How does it behave when bent?
Which bend radii make sense?
How does it react to welding heat?
How can distortion be controlled?
What surface is wanted at the end?
Materials expertise means knowing how a part comes out of it.
Stainless steel – where corrosion resistance, hygiene and high-grade surfaces count.
Stainless steel is a central material at stainlesstec. Depending on the alloy, it combines high corrosion resistance with good mechanical properties and a surface that suits demanding technical and hygienic applications. Typical fields of use are:
Pharmaceutical & process technology · food processing · machinery and plant engineering · defence & marine · high technology & special applications
stainlesstec works stainless steel in a controlled, segregated environment with no contact with other types of steel. That reduces the risk of iron contamination and rust marks while the part is still being made.
Depending on the part, we combine laser cutting, punching, forming, TIG/MIG or laser welding, levelling and surface finishing into one coordinated chain.
Aluminium offers an attractive ratio of weight to technical properties and is therefore widely used for light machine components, enclosures, cladding and demanding special structures.
Working it, though, calls for a different approach from stainless steel: thermal conductivity, forming behaviour, surface sensitivity and weldability all have to be allowed for at the production planning stage. stainlesstec works aluminium in the segregated shop as well and can join up several operations from blank to complete assembly. Typical applications are:
Copper – where electrical and thermal properties are part of the function.
Copper becomes interesting where, alongside the mechanical design, high electrical or thermal conductivity is called for. The material also makes particular demands on machining and, above all, on thermal processes.
At stainlesstec, copper is therefore assessed per project by material, geometry and manufacturing task. Applications range from special technical parts through components for energy and heat technology to customer-specific machine parts.
Brass – an engineering material for particular applications.
Brass combines good machinability with corrosion resistance and characteristic mechanical properties. It is used for technical components, connection parts or particular designs where stainless steel or aluminium is not the right answer.
Because different brass alloys can have markedly different properties, here too we look at grade, geometry and process together.
Titanium – where high demands on material and processing meet.
Titanium combines low density with high specific strength and excellent corrosion resistance. That suits applications where weight, load capacity or unusual chemical environments play an important part.
Those same properties place high demands on processing: in welding especially, material, surface condition, shielding gas and heat input all have to be controlled. We therefore work titanium on a project basis, after a careful review of grade, part geometry and the process required.
Typical fields of use lie in high technology, special machinery and demanding technical applications.
Not every stainless or aluminium grade is the same
On demanding projects the name of a base material is often not enough. Within one group of materials, individual alloys differ considerably in:
strength
corrosion resistance
formability
weldability
thermal expansion
surface behaviour
service temperature
We therefore work to the grade actually specified. In pharmaceutical, defence, pressure vessel and high-technology applications in particular, the delivery condition, the type of certificate and the origin of the material can matter as well.
Material affects the whole production route
Changing material is therefore rarely a simple edit to the parts list. Going from stainless steel → aluminium, for instance, can change:
Cutting → bend radius → tool selection → welding process → heat input → surface finishing → inspection
The same holds for different grades within one family. We therefore always consider material changes together with the design and the operations that follow.
Material segregation protects quality
High-grade stainless steel and aluminium surfaces in particular can suffer from unsuitable material handling. stainlesstec therefore works these materials in a segregated environment with no contact with other types of steel.
This is about more than the visible condition of the finished part: on stainless steel, iron particles can cause corrosion later. Material segregation is therefore not a question of tidiness or looks.
On demanding projects it is not enough to know which material was used. Its origin and allocation may have to be documented traceably. Depending on the order, the following can matter:
material designation
batch
material certificate
delivery condition
unambiguous allocation to the order
project-specific traceability
In defence, pressure vessel, pharmaceutical and other qualified applications especially, this documentation is allowed for before production starts.
Material specified – or still open?
In many projects the material is unambiguously fixed by the design or the customer’s specification. In others, only the technical requirement is settled at first:
We can then bring the manufacturing view into the discussion. Specifying the material in design terms remains with the responsible engineer or client – but we can assess what a given choice means for the production process that follows.
Our materials at a glance
Material
Typical strengths
Typical applications
Stainless steel
corrosion, hygiene, surface, strength
pharmaceuticals, food, plant engineering, defence
Aluminium
low weight, good machinability
machine building, enclosures, high technology, lightweight design
Copper
electrical and thermal conductivity
special technical components
Brass
machinability, special technical applications
components and special parts
Titanium
low weight, high specific strength, corrosion resistance
high technology and special applications
For particular alloys, sizes and thicknesses, the project’s own manufacturing limits apply.
The drawing defines the material. We bring the process to go with it.
Are you planning a part in stainless steel, aluminium, copper, brass or titanium? Send us the CAD data, the drawing, the material specification and the quantity. Our production planning team will assess, together with the shop floor, which operations are required and where particular material properties have to be allowed for.
Let’s talk about your project.
Send us your drawing or CAD data by email – together with material, batch size and your requirements. We will come back to you with a sound assessment.
