I have a customer that is going to be using me to cut some weird metals and I'm wondering if any of you have any experience with this stuff. He makes parts for vacuum testing units that test semiconductors or something like that...

He's been having these parts cut by waterjet and since he is my next door neighbor... he's going to go with me. It'll be an easy job, 2" 3" and 5" circles, 5/16" thick, that will be getting a machined edge after I get done with them. He was even having them machined after the WJ...? I guess when dealing with semi-conductors, he wants them to be perfect...

anyways the metals I will be cutting will be Niobium and Tantalum. And no I haven't Googled them yet... just thought I'd see what you guys know.

And oh yeah... it's over $200.00 per pound so I better not screw anything up!

Can't tell you anything about Tantalum but pure Niobium machines a bit better than pure copper. I found HSS tools really sharp with a good top rake, around 10 degrees I recall, worked and I think I used something like Rapid Tap as a cutting fluid. It is a bit foggy in my poor old brain because this was in 1974 and I was making the parts to go in a Josephson junction in a SQUID. A SQUID is a Super Conducting Quantum Interference Detector Magnetometer. If you Google Niobium you should find stuff that mentions Magnetoencephalographs and other long words.

Guess I shoulda clarified... I will be cutting this with a CNC Plasma table...

Guess I shoulda clarified... I will be cutting this with a CNC Plasma table...

I guess I shoulda looked to see which forum your thread was in :) .

But I cannot help saying: Yikes! pieces of Niobium big enough to cut with Plasma!!!!!!

Guys,
It would be worth finding more info on what you will be cutting before you pull the trigger. Think about this scenario,
Joe customer walks in with a piece of aluminum and asks you to cut it, your customer sets it on your table(not you) tells you the size he wants cut, you program and start plasma cutting, all of a sudden the MAGNESIUM you are cutting starts burning!
Now, I am not sure if the magnesium would actually start burning, but check before you cut.
Who has enough sand in their shop to put out a couple pound chunk of flaring magnesium? not me!

Cutmore

Good point, he's already told me he cuts up the stuff with his Plasma so he doesn't have to give such a large chunk to the WJ guy.

But again.... good point!

In case you guys were interested, I thought I'd show you some cuts of Niobium. Element number 41 on the periodic table.
This is 3/8" thick, and this stuff holds it heat for a long time! It cut's like stainless but I hated cutting it because I was so nervous. This stuff was over $200.00 a pound! Luckily the material is his.

I hope I never see this stuff again...

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y126/Scratchthejeepguy/Nb1.jpg