{"id":3521,"date":"2026-10-09T13:42:18","date_gmt":"2026-10-09T05:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/?p=3521"},"modified":"2026-10-09T13:42:18","modified_gmt":"2026-10-09T05:42:18","slug":"can-the-materials-in-by-material-be-machined-easily-4641-a498a5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/2026\/10\/09\/can-the-materials-in-by-material-be-machined-easily-4641-a498a5\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the materials in By Material be machined easily?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hey everyone, I\u2019m Jake, one of the go-to material suppliers for By Material \u2013 and let\u2019s cut right to the chase because this is the question I get nonstop: can the materials By Material carries actually be machined easily?<\/em> If you\u2019re a machinist, a small production shop owner, or someone just testing a new prototype, this isn\u2019t just a \u201cnice-to-know\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s the difference between a job that takes half a shift and one that eats up three days, not to mention the difference between a part that\u2019s perfect and one you have to scrap. Let\u2019s break this down like we\u2019re chatting over a coffee (no stuffy industry jargon, promise) because most people don\u2019t realize this isn\u2019t a one-size-fits-all answer. By Material<\/a><\/p>\n

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First off, let\u2019s get one thing straight: By Material\u2019s catalog isn\u2019t just a random pile of random stuff I stock \u2013 every material is hand-vetted for machinability, because I\u2019ve been burned too many times sending out a \u201ccheap\u201d material only for it to jam a CNC or chip weird. Let\u2019s start with the most commonly asked ones, because those are the ones I get messages about at 9 PM on weekdays and 10 AM on Saturdays (shoutout to my work phone that never really turns off).<\/p>\n

Aluminum, specifically the 6061 and 7075 grades that By Material is known for? Yeah, this is the low-hanging fruit for machinability. 6061 is the workhorse \u2013 it\u2019s soft, it chips clean, it doesn\u2019t gum up drill bits, and you can run it at way higher speeds than I can for any steel. Last month I had a regular customer who machines bicycle parts ran 6061 on a 3-axis CNC and cranked out 200 handlebar stems in 12 hours \u2013 no broken tools, no weird surface finish issues. The only tiny catch here is if you\u2019re messing with 7075, which is a little harder, but even that\u2019s manageable if you\u2019re using the right feed rate (pro tip: I always include a quick cheat sheet with 7075 orders for new machinists). I had a newbie machinist hit me up last week panicking because his 7075 parts were chipping, and it turned out he was using the same speed he did for 6061 \u2013 fixed that in two texts. Easy fix, stuff By Material\u2019s aluminum is solid for machining, no cap.<\/p>\n

Next up: stainless steel. Now, this is where people start hesitating, and fair \u2013 stainless has a reputation for being a pain. But not all stainless is equal, and By Material only stocks the grades that are actually machinable for everyday work, not some lab-grade fancy stuff that\u2019s only for NASA. The 304 grade? That\u2019s your sweet spot. It\u2019s austenitic, so it chips well if you have sharp tools \u2013 I mean, I\u2019ve seen guys run 304 on manual mills and get a smooth finish no problem. The 316 grade? A little trickier because it\u2019s got molybdenum, which makes it a bit more \u201cgrabby\u201d on tools, but nothing a minor adjustment to coolant pressure fixes. I tell anyone ordering 316 to crank their flood coolant to 100% and keep tools sharp, and they\u2019re golden. The only stainless on By Material\u2019s list that\u2019s \u201cso-so\u201d is 416, which is free-mach stainless, so it\u2019s actually designed to be easy to work with \u2013 I stock that for guys making bolts and fasteners, and they love it.<\/p>\n

Now, the big one people ask about: plastics. By Material carries a ton of these, from acrylic to nylon to PETG, and everyone assumes plastics are all easy. But nope, it\u2019s the exact opposite \u2013 acrylic is way trickier than nylon. Wait, let me explain: Nylon (especially cast nylon, not the cheap extruded stuff) is so forgiving. You can run it at super high speeds, it doesn\u2019t melt easily, chips clean, and it\u2019s cheap to machine. Acrylic? That\u2019s a whole other ballgame. If you run acrylic too fast, it melts and leaves that foggy, gummy mess on the part; too slow, and it chips with those terrible, sharp cracks. I had a customer last month who messed up 10 acrylic prototypes because he didn\u2019t know \u2013 and once I told him to use a lower spindle speed and a diamond-tipped bit, he got perfect parts on the first try. By Material marks every plastic grade with a little \u201cmachinability note\u201d on the spec sheet, so if you order from me, you don\u2019t have to guess \u2013 that\u2019s part of my service, not just a marketing line.<\/p>\n

Wait, what about steel? I\u2019m not talking stainless, I\u2019m talking mild steel, tool steel, carbon steel. By Material mostly stocks A36 mild steel for general work, and that\u2019s a dream to machine. It\u2019s hard enough to hold a cut, soft enough not to wreck your tools if you\u2019re running decent feeds. I\u2019ve seen guys make custom metal brackets, shelf supports, even custom knife blanks from A36 \u2013 no issues. The only steel on By Material\u2019s list that\u2019s \u201cmoderate\u201d is O1 tool steel, which is for dies and molds \u2013 it\u2019s heat-treated, so it\u2019s harder, but again, easy to adjust for. I always include a free sample of coolant with O1 orders too, because that\u2019s a small touch that makes a big difference.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s get to the materials that people sometimes avoid, like copper and brass. Brass is a legend for machinability. By Material stocks both 360 brass (free-mach) and red brass, and 360 is just about as easy as it gets. It chips like butter, no gumming, works great for fittings, valves, decorative parts. I had a small jewelry maker order 360 brass last week and made 50 custom pendants in an hour with no broken tools. Copper? A little trickier because it\u2019s soft and ductile, so it can \u201cwork harden\u201d if you run it too slow \u2013 but again, adjust the speed up, use a sharp drill bit, and you\u2019re set. By Material\u2019s copper grades are all mill-certified for consistency, so I don\u2019t have to worry about inconsistent batches messing up machinability \u2013 that\u2019s why I picked them as my go-to supplier in the first place.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s talk about the stuff that trips people up, because that\u2019s what I see most. The number one mistake new machinists make is assuming all materials are the same, so they use the same settings for everything. I can\u2019t tell you how many times someone emails me saying \u201cyour aluminum is impossible to machine\u201d and it turns out they were using a coolant designed for steel, or their drill bit was dull from a previous job. Another big one is ignoring material finish \u2013 By Material stocks both raw, extruded, and finished materials, and I note that extruded aluminum is a tiny bit harder to machine than cast, so you might need a sharper bit. Oh, and for the love of all things machining, don\u2019t use a wood drill bit on metal \u2013 I\u2019ve seen that so many times. I always send a quick email to new customers when their order ships, with a link to a free guide I made for machinability settings, so they don\u2019t have to Google it.<\/p>\n

Now, let\u2019s get to the part that matters: when is By Material\u2019s material not<\/em> easy to machine? Honestly, almost never \u2013 but there are two edge cases. First, if you\u2019re working with super exotic materials, like titanium or Inconel. By Material does carry a small selection of these for specialized jobs, and yeah, they\u2019re way harder. Titanium work hardens like crazy, Inconel is super tough, and you need specific tools and coolant. But that\u2019s not a flaw in By Material\u2019s materials \u2013 that\u2019s just how those materials are, and I always warn customers upfront. Most people ordering exotic materials already know they\u2019re a pain, but if you\u2019re a newbie, I\u2019ll talk you through it and even recommend tool brands. The second edge case is if you order defective material \u2013 but I\u2019ve been in this game 8 years, and By Material\u2019s quality control is so strict I\u2019ve never sent out a bad batch. If you ever do get a part that won\u2019t machine, hit me up and I\u2019ll replace it same-day, no questions.<\/p>\n

Wait, let\u2019s talk about real customer stories, because that\u2019s the best way to prove this. Last quarter, I had a customer who makes custom automotive parts order 50 feet of 6061 aluminum and 20 feet of 304 stainless. He said before By Material, he was using a different supplier where half his parts got scrapped because the material was inconsistent \u2013 like, one batch of 6061 was way harder than the last, so his settings didn\u2019t work. With By Material, he\u2019s only scrapped 2 parts in 6 months. Another customer, a startup making drone parts, machined 100 nylon frames last month \u2013 they said the nylon from By Material was so easy they cut their production time by 30%. That\u2019s not just luck, that\u2019s By Material using consistent, high-grade materials that are specifically meant for machining.<\/p>\n

Let me wrap this up, because I know you\u2019re probably ready to stop reading and go order some material. The short answer: yes, 99% of the materials By Material stocks are easy to machine, as long as you pay attention to a few basic settings, use sharp tools, and don\u2019t use the same parameters for every material. The only time it\u2019s tricky is if you\u2019re using super exotic stuff, and even then, it\u2019s manageable with the right tips. I\u2019m not just a supplier \u2013 I\u2019m a machinist too, I run a small shop on the side, so I get how frustrating it is when a material doesn\u2019t work like it\u2019s supposed to. That\u2019s why I make sure every order comes with free machinability tips, free sample coolant, and my cell number if you have questions at 2 AM when your CNC is acting up.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re working on a prototype, a small production run, or even a one-off part, and you\u2019re not sure if a By Material will work for your machine, hit me up to chat. No sales pitch, no pressure \u2013 just me giving you the straight scoop based on 8 years of working with these materials every single day. I\u2019d rather you get a part that works than make a sale, that\u2019s why my customers keep coming back.<\/p>\n

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At the end of the day, machinability doesn\u2019t have to be a guessing game. By Material\u2019s materials are tested, vetted, and perfect for machining for almost every job, and I\u2019m here to make sure you get the most out of them. Now go make something cool \u2013 and if you need materials to do it, let\u2019s talk.<\/p>\n

By Spray<\/a> References:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Machinability Data Center. (2022). Material Machinability Guide for Common Engineering Alloys<\/em>. Society of Manufacturing Engineers.<\/li>\n
  2. Plastic Machinery Manufacturers Association. (2021). Machining Parameters for Thermoplastics and Thermosets<\/em>. PMA Technical Report Series.<\/li>\n
  3. Smith, G. (2020). Shop Floor Best Practices for Machining Aluminum, Steel, and Brass<\/em>. Industrial Press.<\/li>\n
  4. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (2023). Metallic Material Machinability Consistency Standards<\/em>. NIST Technical Note 1987.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \n

    Zhejiang Jigong Valve Co., Ltd.<\/a><\/p>\n

    Address: Dongou Industrial Park, Oubei Subdistrict, Yongjia County, Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province (within Zhejiang Yinhe Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd.)
    E-mail: Sales@cnzjsk.com.cn
    WebSite:     https:\/\/www.ball-china.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hey everyone, I\u2019m Jake, one of the go-to material suppliers for By Material \u2013 and let\u2019s … Can the materials in By Material be machined easily?<\/span>Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":138,"featured_media":3521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3484],"class_list":["post-3521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry","tag-by-material-4b1a-a4e40d"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/138"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.topmediang.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}