Slitting Inconel

[Novice Engineer]

Hi All,

Very novice engineer here. I have some half inch Inconel tube and I would like to cut some slits in it a few mm wide cut, and maybe 3 or 4 mm deep. The Inconel has a wall thickness of 1.7mm

What sort of machine / tool would I need to do this , a circular saw of some description

Thanks in advance

NE

 

[berkshire]

novice Engineer,
The first machine I would look at for that would be a milling machine.
B.E.

You are judged not by what you know, but by what you can do.

 

[IRstuff]

Dremel tool comes to mind

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

faq731-376 forum1529 Entire Forum list

http://www.eng-tips.com/forumlist.cfm

 

[dvd]

laser tube cutter - cutting slits deeper than wall thickness doesn't make sense to me ...

 

[btrueblood]

Waterjet would work, and give a clean hole finish (no recast layer). No deburr generally needed. May leave abrasive debris behind warranting cleaning.
EDM gives clean cuts, with thin recast layer, no slag. No deburr generally needed. May leave slag/deposits behind warranting cleaning.
Laser would give less clean cuts, thick-ish recast layer, with possible slag along the cut edges and spattered slag hitting the opposite inside wall of the tube (unless cut over a throw-away internal mandrel or partially submerged). Deburr may or may not be needed.
Slitting saws give a clean cut, if kept sharp, but the ends of the cut are tapered at whatever the radius of the saw blade demands. Deburring the slot edges will be necessary.
Milling a "few mm" wide slot in Inconel will be tricky at best, it's not an easy material to machine, though some types of Inconel can be more machinable than others...but none are any better than type 304/316 stainless steel. Deburr required.

 

[TED7]

Horizontal mill or maybe a slitting saw on a vertical mill - Use the table to traverse the cut across otherwise you'll get a radius on the bottom of the slit.

Check speeds and feeds for your grade of Inconel, it's a pain, don't attempt it with blunt tooling.