Custom Steel BBQ Tags 316SS

When it comes to making custom steel BBQ tags, CNCROi.com can make them out of any gauge (thickness) or shape but in this case, they are made using 316 stainless steel as they will be used near the ocean.

Unlike what you may think, even 316 stainless steel will corrode over time, just like 304 stainless steel BUT 316SS is more corrosive resistant to Chlorine and salt water than 304SS.

This custom steel BBQ tag project was made using 316 stainless steel as a result, there are a few projects in this video we batched-up at CNCROi.com to make each client have their own tags to their spec

We’ve made a lot of custom steel projects become reality, for both industrial and personal use including wedding party favors made out of 304 stainless steel in this case!

Using the CNC waterjet to cut out these (and others) custom 316 stainless steel plates provides for incredible accuracy within the customers specs as CNCROi.com will be jumping from one CNC (waterjet) to another (fiber laser) in order to complete these jobs of which the custom steel BBQ

Regardless of the end application, custom steel BBQ tags or custom steel mining tags, the process in creating them from a sheet of flat 316 stainless steel is the same, boot-up the CNC waterjet then cut away until all the custom steel tags are liberated from the sheet of stainless.

How durable are CNCROi.com‘s tags? Here’s a sand blasting test I did a few years ago to show you in extreme conditions not really found anywhere on Earth.

During the CNC waterjet cutting process, there is an initial “piecing” that causes the water with sand to go flying all over the place, thus there is a barrier to the water flying away, in this case, we’ve found after lots of testing that a cut-up tennis ball does the trick durability wise.

As you can see from the image below, all the custom steel BBQ tags are now cut, the CNC waterjet is now cutting other plates that are part of a larger CNCROi.com job using the same 316 stainless steel, in the case of the other job, it isn’t a marine environment that necessitates the premium of 316SS over 304SS but just a very harsh environment that we used the “better be safe than sorry” approach.

All the rust and sand you see forming on the top of the 316 stainless steel sheet is just on the surface, the tags themselves are nice and shiny under there so it’s just debris from previous cuttings that’s laying onto the surface of the custom steel BBQ tags.

When it comes to volume steel production, CNCROi.com makes a ton of custom welding tags but the size and spec we keep in stock are our 1 x 3″ 304 stainless steel and black anodized aluminium, with or without holes, your choice!

CNCROi.com essentially has the same precision and repeatability whether it’s cutting with the CNC waterjet, CNC laser or CNC router, so mixing jobs between them is no problem at all, which makes jobs like this custom steel BBQ tag pretty straight forward and easy to handle.

When it comes to cutting out metal, the finishing options are either tumbling to dull the shine or just leave them as/is, regardless, when it comes to fiber laser etching, the top finish has no effect on the deeper etching and color changing that will be done using the beam as long as the custom steel BBQ tags are cleaned-up.

There are literally infinite options when it comes to what CNCROi.com can cut, etch and anneal when it comes to metal, totally custom or stock in volume orders, we do them all to spec for our customers!

If you look to the far right of the picture below, you’ll see where the CNCROi.com logo was cut out, from the same sheet, so mixing and matching different projects works very well all around, it makes things more cost-effective, speeds-up production and all these savings can be passed onto our fantastic customers.

After all these custom steel BBQ tags are cut out, it’s time to clean the surface up to remove any sand, rusted bits of metal from other jobs and anything else that may potentially cause a different reaction to being hit with a high-powered CNC fiber laser.

Of course, this custom steel BBQ tags job required tumbling and thus, you can see the finish is slightly different from an almost mirror like polish, at CNCROi.com, I actually prefer having metal tags going through a secondary process as it gives them more esthetic appeal and most importantly, prevents blinding if you ever shoot light onto the tags.

CNCROi.com can make custom metal projects for a wide variety of applications and needs, here are some 304 stainless steel coasters we keep, again in volume, at the shop for use by various customers who want personalized permanent branding.

Next step is to get the custom steel BBQ tags fiber etched, so for one project, CNCROi.com migrated to sand and water to a high energy intensified beam!

The sparks, and there are a lot, are caused by the fiber laser hitting the 316 custom steel BBQ tag, the process heats-up the metal while etching into it and the result is contrast that will not fade, crack or peel over time.

When it comes to custom stainless steel or anodized aluminium, CNCROi.com also keeps a wide variety of custom valve tag specs in stock for our clients.

If these steel BBQ tags were branded using screen or vinyl printing, the process would have been very similar minus the sparks BUT as soon as the heat from the BBQ would have warmed the tag up, the branding would have burned, peeled and cracked right off – that’s the power of fiber branding steel at CNCROi.com!

I have another product that I do in volume at CNCROi.com and those are our Drais BMT multi-tools for bikes, they go through very much the same process as these custom steel BBQ tags did.

After fiber etching all the custom steel BBQ tags, the next step is cleaning them up to remove the soot that builds-up on them during the etching process and get them ready for shipment to the customer to enjoy for generations to come.

Just for contrast, you can see how much of a difference in shine happens between the CNCROi.com logo and the tags below, the tumbling process kicks the reflection down just a notch, but not so much that you don’t recognize  the incredible reflective quality of the steel.

If you need any custom steel tags made, regardless of application, gauge or shape/size, contact CNCROi.com right now!