Thick Wall Stainless Pipe and Thick Disc

[Rhodrons]

I wish to make a stainless steel vessel that will have a final vertical wall dimension of 14" bore and outside diameter 15.5" x 11" high. Does anyone know how/whether I can get such a pipe fabricated? I will also need a thick stainless disc some 15.5" diameter x 4" thick that will be "sculpted" on a 5-axis CNC to give a complex curvature mating part. My difficulty is finding a source of such a disc. Ultimately most of the thickness of both parts will be machined away to leave a thin shell bith external bosses. That is the easy bit! I am UK based and this is a one-off adventure.

 

[metengr]

Yes, you should be able to obtain the piping for the vessel cylinder and heavy wall plate for the heads. Your best bet is to locate a Code boiler or pressure vessel fabrication shop in the UK, and have them source the material on your behalf. These types of fabrication shops do business on a regular basis with steel suppliers and have the inside track on obtaining material.

 

[arto]

Check for laminations if you make the head from a thick plate.

It may be difficult to machine the pipe OD with bosses left on. How about use a thin pipe & weld cap, & full-pen weld on the bosses?

 

[Rhodrons]

Thanks guys. On the issue of the option to weld the bosses on to a thin shell, we have discussed this but fear the distortion will lead us to lose the tight tolerances we need for the inner shell surface. In fact this vessel is to be used as a type of casting mould - a bit like spin casting. There are no pressure issues but the shell and base will be surrounded by a water jacket.