In precision manufacturing, stainless steel is a mainstream material that balances structural strength, corrosion resistance and overall cost-effectiveness, widely used in medical, food, aerospace, marine and other industries. Many buyers new to stainless steel milling often wonder why it costs so much more than aluminum — this is not supplier markup, but a higher processing threshold determined by the material properties of stainless steel. Four core challenges: work hardening, built-up edge, low thermal conductivity and poor chip evacuation, collectively drive up processing costs and technical requirements.