6061-T6
The workhorse alloy. Welds, machines and anodizes cleanly, with medium strength — if the drawing does not name a grade, it is usually this one.
- Machinability excellent · ±0.01 mm
- ['Housings · brackets · heat sinks · fixtures']
Materials
Metals and engineering plastics in the grades we cut every week — bar, plate and tube in stock, with EN 10204 3.1 mill certificates and lot-by-lot heat numbers.
Light, fast to cut, easy to anodize
Aluminium
The default for housings, brackets and heat sinks: a third the weight of steel, three times the cutting speed, and the only common metal that takes a hard, coloured oxide layer.
7075-T6
Zinc-bearing, close to mild steel in strength at a third of the weight. Harder on tooling, not recommended for welding.
- Machinability good · ±0.01 mm
- ['Robot joints · structural brackets · tooling plates']
2024-T4
High fatigue strength for aircraft structures; the copper content costs some corrosion resistance, so it usually gets a coating.
- Machinability good · ±0.015 mm
- ['Ribs · wing fittings · aerospace brackets']
5083 / 5052
Marine-grade plate with excellent corrosion resistance and weldability — chosen for the environment, not for the tolerance.
- Machinability fair · ±0.02 mm
- ['Marine panels · tanks · frames · covers']
- Anodizing Type II / III
- Chromating
- Bead blasting
- Brushing
- Powder coating
Corrosion resistance for food, medical and marine
Stainless Steel
303 when the drawing is steel and the deadline is tight, 316L when the part meets chlorides or a patient. All stainless leaves us passivated unless the drawing says otherwise.
303
Free-machining austenitic — sulphur added so chips break and the surface stays clean. Slightly less corrosion resistance than 304.
- Machinability excellent · ±0.01 mm
- ['Bushings · nuts · shafts · spacers']
304 / 304L
General-purpose corrosion resistance with good weldability; the standard for food, dairy and chemical hardware.
- Machinability fair · ±0.015 mm
- ['Housings · tanks · fittings · frames']
316 / 316L
Molybdenum-bearing: holds up against chlorides, salt spray and sterilisation. The medical and marine default.
- Machinability fair · ±0.015 mm
- ['Instruments · marine hardware · valve parts']
17-4 PH
Precipitation-hardening stainless: machines in the soft state, then heat-treats to high strength with minimal distortion.
- Machinability good · ±0.01 mm
- ['Shafts · valves · aerospace fittings']
- Passivation
- Electropolishing
- Bead blasting
- Brushing
- Polishing
Strong, inexpensive, heat-treatable
Carbon & Alloy Steel
Structural brackets, shafts, gears and wear parts. Cheap per kilo and the only family that gets dramatically harder after heat treatment — so the sequence (rough, treat, finish) is planned with the heat treater, not after.
1018 / 1215
Low-carbon, soft, weldable and easy to cut. 1215 adds sulphur for free machining on volume work.
- Machinability excellent · ±0.02 mm
- ['Fixtures · plates · brackets · jigs']
1045
Medium carbon: through-hardens to roughly 50–55 HRC for shafts and gears that must resist wear.
- Machinability good · ±0.015 mm
- ['Shafts · gears · spindles · pins']
4140
Chromoly: strong, tough and uniform after quench and temper — the default for loaded shafts.
- Machinability good · ±0.01 mm
- ['Drive shafts · tie rods · hydraulic parts']
D2 / H13 / 4340
Tool and high-hardenability grades for punches, dies, mould inserts and heavy sections. Cut soft, then hardened and ground.
- Machinability fair · ±0.005 mm after grinding
- ['Dies · punches · inserts · heavy shafts']
- Hardening & tempering
- Stress relieving
- Black oxide
- Zinc plating
- Nickel plating
Conductivity, machinability, bearing qualities
Copper, Brass & Bronze
Busbars and contacts need conductivity; bushings and pump parts need a bearing surface; and free-cutting brass turns faster than anything else in the shop.
C360 (free-cutting brass)
The screw-machine standard: excellent chip control, mirror finishes, tight tolerances at high feed rates.
- Machinability excellent · ±0.01 mm
- ['Fittings · terminals · inserts · valve bodies']
C110 copper
Highest electrical and thermal conductivity in the family; gummy to cut, so it gets sharp tooling and real feeds.
- Machinability fair · ±0.02 mm
- ['Busbars · electrodes · heat spreaders']
C932 bronze
Lead-bearing bronze: a built-in lubricant for sliding contact and slow-turning shafts.
- Machinability good · ±0.015 mm
- ['Bushings · bearings · pump parts · wear rings']
BeCu / CuNi
Beryllium copper brings spring temper back into a conductive part; cupronickel brings marine corrosion resistance.
- Machinability fair · ±0.015 mm
- ['Spring contacts · non-sparking tools · marine fittings']
- Tin plating
- Nickel plating
- Passivation
- Brushing
- Tumbling
Where weight, heat and corrosion decide the drawing
Titanium & Nickel Alloys
Slow to cut and priced by the kilo, so they go on the right machine first time: rigid setups, carbide or ceramic tooling, generous coolant and no interrupted finishing passes.
Ti Grade 2
Commercially pure titanium: excellent corrosion resistance, formable, moderate strength.
- Machinability fair · ±0.02 mm
- ['Chemical parts · anodes · marine hardware']
Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5)
The workhorse titanium: high strength-to-weight, keeps its properties hot, needs slow speeds and sharp tools.
- Machinability fair (5-axis) · ±0.01 mm
- ['Aerospace brackets · medical · motorsport']
Inconel 718
Nickel superalloy for high temperature and high load: the hardest thing we cut, and the most tool-hungry.
- Machinability poor · ±0.015 mm
- ['Turbine parts · downhole hardware · high-temp valves']
Duplex 2205
Ferritic-austenitic stainless: twice the yield of 316L and chloride stress-corrosion resistance to match.
- Machinability fair · ±0.02 mm
- ['Valves · pumps · marine shafts · heat exchangers']
- Passivation
- Bead blasting
- Titanium anodizing
- Pickling
Insulating, food-safe, chemically inert
Engineering Plastics
No coolant, no corrosion, no conductivity — plastics solve problems metals cannot. They also move: we rough, let the part settle, then finish, and anneal where the drawing needs it.
POM (Delrin)
Dimensionally stable with a low friction coefficient — the default for moving plastic parts.
- Machinability excellent · ±0.02 mm
- ['Gears · bushings · rollers · guides']
PEEK
High temperature, chemically resistant and sterilisable — the premium choice for medical and semiconductor work.
- Machinability good · ±0.02 mm
- ['Seals · wafer handling parts · surgical tooling']
PTFE
Chemically inert with the lowest friction of any machined plastic; soft, so it needs light cuts and support.
- Machinability fair · ±0.05 mm
- ['Seals · liners · insulators · gaskets']
PA6 / PA66 (Nylon)
Tough and abrasion-resistant, but it absorbs moisture — dimensions are quoted dry and stabilised.
- Machinability good · ±0.05 mm
- ['Rollers · wear strips · spacers · washers']
PMMA / PC
Optically clear: acrylic for light guides and display parts, polycarbonate when impact resistance matters more.
- Machinability good · ±0.05 mm
- ['Light guides · covers · guards · lenses']
- As machined
- Annealing
- Tumbling
- Laser engraving