Hi,
Just purchased all he components for a new MPCNC. From what i read if the size is going to be larger than normal it is suggested to get stainless tubing. I have looked everywhere online and the sites i have found that have are extremely expensive. Some sites quotes are more then the cots of all the components. Any help on where to source stainless tubing would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Yes, stainless was expensive even 2yrs ago. I got 1" OD {A} x 0.870" ID {B} x .065" {C} Wall 304 Stainless Steel Tube (Tubing), Annealed-By the Inch from https://www.speedymetals.com/
They cut it to the exact length and it is high quality and perfectly round (so seams).
You might say ouch! when you add up all the lengths.
I don’t know where you are, but if you live near a city of any size you’ll almost certainly find a metal store, or at worst a metal fab shop. I’ve managed to get nearly all the tubing i needed for several sizes of mpcnc and a lowrider from the remnants rack at a discount. Even if you pay retail, you won’t have the special shipping cost.
Good luck.
Definitely shop local I used metals supermarket and their local price was about half of their website price.
Mine is from a yacht fitting supplier- it’s used for safety rails. It wasn’t cheap by any means but I figure if it gives me a better result, like all tools it’s an investment I can recoup in the (very) long term
Thanks everyone. I am in Miami so i am sure there are at least few metal suppliers around. Growing up in the internet age i always thought that internet prices where going to be much lower. But from the few online retailers i found the tubing would have cost way more than the entire MPCNC.
It is amazing to me how much prices went up in the last year.
Couple weeks before I start the beta primo build I ordered 304 Stainless from Metal Depot and as you can see in the picture bellow I only payed $29 for each 6ft plus shipping , now it is $110 ea.
I bought mine from Metal Depot as well. They’ll pre-cut it to length for you.
Stainless steel isn’t cheap. I still need to replace the DOM tubing on my build with the SS that I bought, but other projects have jumped in line.
Interesting, can you share your reasons for doing this?
Yeah local metal pricing depends on industry, and at the scale of an mpcnc we have enough steel industry to supply locally for sure. Now if we all lived overseas the steel would be relatively much cheaper for the same reasoning… it is where 90% of global industry currently exists. As our industry share dwindles to nothing though, those online prices may own the day. Luckily my not so huge town still has suppliers hanging in there.
The DOM I bought from Jegs came in slightly bent. I tried to cut them so that the longest spans are the straightest, but I still have issues with the core being loose if the bends are in certain directions. Plus the added inaccuracies of having a bent axis.
If there was a big factory that needed 1" tubing, I doubt they would get it from a nearby local shop and they probably wouldn’t be selling to individuals. 1" (or 25mm) tubing is needed by anyone with a welder. Mechanics, construction, any custom fabrication, etc. need this stuff locally. They are around. They just don’t advertise because they are mostly selling to businesses.
That’s my impression of it though. I am not in that profession. Maybe I have it all wrong.
The problem I ran into is that most of the steel suppliers in the area all listed piping by ID instead of OD.
FWIW, I work for a steel tubing wholesaler. For account or delivery orders we have a $500 CAD minimum order.
We also get the occasional farmer come in who needs 10’ of 2" steel tube (Or a hobbyist who needs 20’ of 1" .065 wall, lol) and we have a cash sale price for it. No problem. I think it’s currently about $40 CAD for a 20’ length of 1" .065 wall DOM. Seriously, call the local wholesalers. You probably have to go pick it up, and you might need to bring a saw to do rough cuts in the parking lot (.065 wall is a little too light for our saws, it can mess up the blades.)
Piping suppliers arent the right place to buy this. They sell pressure rated metal (pipes) for pressurized fluid systems.
You are going to want to search the nearest 500k+ metro area, and look for a structural steel fabrication shop, and call and ask if you can buy some of theirs by the foot. That’s what I did anyway and it worked.
A metals supplier would also work but they might not call you back for such a small amount
1” OD tubing (not piping) is a structural metal that carries a rating based on its ability to hold weight and forces, not for holding internal pressure. It is extruded through a die, which is why the OD is so accurate.
Piping OD has wide tolerances and it’s no good for this application.
Yeah. There’s a place I buy my steel for other projects. I think they have it, but I didn’t know about it at the time.
Thanks for the recommendation. I just placed my order with SpeedyMetals after initially attempting to get a quote from a local steel supply. They were rude and unhelpful and it was going to take me multiple trips to get what I needed. They charge $10-20 per cut. They never told me this but online reviews show that they spring this fee on customers at checkout… that would have been a nice surprise for 12 cuts…
So with the per cut fee it would have been around $240 for non-stainless tubing from the local place. Compare that to the 304 Stainless Steel w/ 1" OD & 0.065" wall thickness cut to exact lengths and shipped to VT from SpeedyMetals… I paid $274 (this is for a 32" x 32" workspace MPCNC Primo). I’m OK with that.
Wow. That’s a LOT. I guess they REALLY don’t want small orders…
No kidding, and why do I get the feeling they are the same folks that would rant about supporting local small businesses. smh
Anyway I was happy to find SpeedyMetals.com. They specify that the cutting tolerance is up to 1/8" of extra length, in order to guarantee the lengths are at least never too short. I put a friendly comment in the order saying politely that I would appreciate the cuts to be as accurate as possible and that they select the straightest material possible for this CNC application. I don’t have many metal working tools so I hope I don’t have to file them down manually and I don’t think I’m any good with an angle grinder. I would probably end up purchasing a benchtop grinder/sander which has been on my list for a while anyway.
I can’t speak to the Primo, but on my Burly, I don’t think there are any places where a tube that was 1/8" too long wouldn’t just be able to “stick out” a little and not cause any issues.
