[tpehlke]

what are the statistics like sfm, and hb?

thanks,

timbo

[DareBee]

That is entirely dependant on your tooling and set-up.
Lets say 250 SFM for HSS and 450 SFM for Carbide.

I don't know what you mean by hb?

[Skeeterd5150]

maybe he meant hardness brinell?

[youngjim]

Or potentially Hardness, Rockwell B? Hmm.

[tpehlke]

maybe he meant hardness brinell?

Yes That is what I meant. I have some insert drills that ask for that.

Thanks,

Tim Pehlke

[Geof]

maybe he meant hardness brinell?

A36 steel; hardness??? Softness is more like it, as in cheap cheese.

Although sometimes you can get burnt on this stuff, or your tool can, because occasionally you run into inclusions that are very hard. The scale on the surface can also be hard and the first pass should be 30 thou or so; trying to take a very thin skim can take the edge off the tool very quickly.

[DareBee]

I have never had inclusion issues with A36. I do with Blackmax all the time. Inclusions or lack thereof is the only reason I ever use A36 over Blackmax.
Generally speaking I am a 44W guy where HR plate is involved.

[KyleH2]

If you ever need to know the properties of a metal you can check out MatWeb Usually it will give you the Brinell hardness and say Low Carbon Steel and from that you can calculate about what you need.

http://www.matweb.com/search/DataSheet.aspx?MatID=14016

I too have had problems with surface finish machining A36.

[AppEng]

Carbide or HSS? Run 450sfm with carbide f you want to fall asleep while machining. It is generally a very easy material to machine, and can be ran upwards of 1000sfm in face milling very successfully depending on feed/tooth with a good cutter and carbide grade for example. A36 plate is a common structural steel, that is relatively soft, but can have scale and inclusions, and is commonly torch-cut, which can leave a heat-affected zone. The trick there is not to baby it- just get under the scale and pour the beef to it. Good finishes are easy to obtain. Face/side milling, boring, turning???

[littlerob]

If you are using an insert drill I think that is where you will fight it, It is so soft the chip doesn't break, like copper, where if you use high speed steel you would peck at it. I have been successful with an insert drill it's just a little scary. MTC Robert

[AppEng]

Scary? No. Just push the feed harder...it's a soft material, but the chip WILL break, or you're doing something wrong. If you're insert drilling and don't have the HP/Torque to push harder than you are now, try an outboard insert with a lighter edge that will break tighter and draw less HP.

[Ed from NY]

Just FYI, according to eMachineShop Brinell for A36 is 140.

Updating this old thread because that is where Google sent me when I searched for "A36 brinell"

[davereagan]

A36 is just mild steel, almost synonymous with 1018 hot rolled, but with a minimum yield tensile strength of 36,000 psi. One thing is that square and rectangular tubing made with it has a weld that is hard and can give saw blades and tools some grief compared to the base metal. Before I learned about bi-metal saw blades, I ripped the teeth off a hardback carbon blade as soon as it hit that weld in 2" x 4" tubing with 1/4" wall. I was then afraid it would do to a $45 bi-metal blade what it did immediately to a $15 blade, but it ran right through. My first of many experiences with a tool costing three times more and being over ten times better.