Laser or Waterjet cutting?

Ed Caffrey

Ed Caffrey

Joined
Jul 23, 1999
Messages
1,409
I'm in the midst of a new project (yep, I'm experimenting again):-) and find that I may need some SMALL parts cut. I am not well versed on laser or waterjet cutting, but from what I understand about it, it might be where I need to go. I like the idea of the waterjet because there is no thermal distortion of materials, but I have heard that as the depth of cut increases, there is an undercut on the pattern. My questions is....Does anyone know of a source who would be willing to do small jobs (ones and twos)in either laser or waterjet cutting? I suspect I will eventually try both, to see which will work better for my application. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

------------------
Ed Caffrey "The Montana Bladesmith"
ABS Mastersmith
www.caffreyknives.com
 
D'Holders (Son in law or son) has a Waterjet cutting service. Tell him I sent you he MAY remember me from our knife club AKCA.
HM 623-878-3064
Fax 623-878-3964
He will answer Usually on the first ring if he's home. If not leave a message he will call back.
By the way set up for either of those services usually runs in the neighborhood of $100. per design. The more pieces you run the better your price per EA. Maybe they will give you a break?
biggrin.gif

Good luck
Bob Hankins
Chandler, AZ
 
Ed, there is an article by Bud Lang on laser cutting in the August 2000 Knives Illustrated. The point of contact in the article is: Terry Summers at:
Admiral Steel,4125 West 123rd St., Alsip, Il.60803-1869; (800) 323-7055.
E-mail: sales@admiralsteel.com. Hope this helps, Greg
 
Ed, I bought some blanks from Admiral steel in 440c that were laser cut. If you go this route, expect to lose 1/8" in each dimension to clean up the cutting debris. I don't really think it would work for small parts. If you'd like, I would be happy to send you one of the blanks so you can see for yourself. Take care! Michael

------------------
Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!
http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
Several years ago I had occasion to have some lockback folders waterjet cut. Yes the cut has some widening about .010 in 3/32" material if, I say IF, the waterjet operator slows down the rate of travel and does a slow cut. High speed cutting is less expensive but the kerf increases dramatically. tolerances were with in .005"



------------------
george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
I just had some plate stock in 154CM and CPM-3V slit by laser cutting into 4" strips for ease of handling. The cuts were fine and precise with no rounding or jagged edges, though the edges were hardened enough to give my bandsaw a little trouble getting into them. Surfacing the hard edge away on my grinder likely consummed no more than 0.010" to get into unhardened steel. The part that is hardened, thermally altered, is pretty small in heavy stock (I was using 0.170-0.195" materials), since the plate acts as its own heat sink. I watched some light (~0.050") stock being cut and it looked dead perfect on the edges.

I got a chance to walk through how that process runs, and it is pretty slick how the program they use will optimize the layout to get the maximum number of pieces you get out of the sheet stock. All they needed to get going was a drawing or a scan they could get into their PC. Actually my slitting task was more work than if I had given them a drawing for a complex part.

------------------
Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
The Tom & Jerry Show
 
Jerry what was the setup fee?
How many pieces did you have done?
Only asking because this is in my future plans for knifemaking
biggrin.gif

Thanks
Bob Hankins
 
Bob, I got a pretty good deal since the guy thought he wanted into the knife business. He did my cuts on 24 x 30" stock at $3 each. That was before he found out that high alloy tool steel is a whole lot different than what he is used to.. He had to use a nitrogen stream to keep from burning it and it took him twice as long as he expected.

Before that experience, he told me he would do a setup for $35. I'm not sure right now.

------------------
Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
The Tom & Jerry Show
 
i have blanks cut for my rhino chop, culinary knives. i belive the minumin at admiral steel is $150 for setup. they are great to work with. the contact there is Terry Summers......... ........... ... good luck,


------------------
Laurence Segal www.RHINOKNIVES.com
 
I agree, Terry Sommers is a nice guy to work with, but don't buy Admiral's stainless steels if you plan on a shiney finish! I don't say things like that without a good reason. All the ats and 440c I've bought from them has had a carbon crystalization in it and you cannot buff or sand it out. It goes all the way thru the steel. It's fine if you plan on satin finishing or bead blasting, but not for shiney finish.

------------------
Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!
http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
just got home from dinner with a bunch of knifemakers.....same topic was discussed.. and the undercut problem is very pronounce.. you dont get anything near a square cut.

------------------
http://www.mayoknives.com


 
The cuts on my 154CM and CPM-3V were dead square. I think the key was how it was done. As I mentioned they used a nitrogen stream to keep from burning the steel and maybe sacrificed speed for precision. There is absolutely no undercutting on this material.

I used MN Industries here in Atlanta.

------------------
Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
The Tom & Jerry Show
 
Laurance, I talked to Terry Sommers from Admiral and a rep from Crucible steel and they both told me it was carbon crystalization. Some folks thought it might be caused by shearing the steel to thickness instead of rolling it to thickness and shearing it to width, but Terry and the Crucible rep disagreed.
I'm not knockin Admiral, I've bought alot of steel from them,and I like doing business with them, but the fact is their stainless has these crystaline looking imperfections in it. If you'd like to see it, I can send you a piece of the steel.

------------------
Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!
http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
Oops, meant to mention that Terry told me laser cutting on steels like 01 or 1095 come out slick as a saw cut. Wasn't 01 used for alot of factory folder blades before stainless went berzerk???
 
One of the reasons that Crucible's 154CM looks different than ATS-34 from Admiral or anyone else is that 154CM is rolled differently. Instead of being hot rolled in one direction, 154CM is rolled, rotated 90 degrees and rerolled. This does two things, it virtually eliminates the longitudinal grain, allowing you to use the steel cut in any direction. It also makes for a finer grain which results in a better polish.

That said, Admiral's ATS-34 does have that crystalline appearance that is very annoying if you are trying to mirror polish it. ATS-34 from other sources I've used doesn't have that.

------------------
Jerry Hossom
www.hossom.com
The Tom & Jerry Show
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top