Martensitic (iron, chrome, carbon) grades providing higher strength and hardness levels after heat treating. The most common grades are 410, 416, 420, and 440 series. These grades have adequate corrosion resistance and are magnetic.
Stainless steels are iron-based alloys with minimum chromium content of 10.5% and a maximum carbon content of 1.20%. Other alloys can be added but iron will be the predominate one.
There are five different classes or “families” of stainless steel that include many alloying elements providing good corrosion resistance, high strength, and ductility.
Martensitic (iron, chrome, carbon) grades providing higher strength and hardness levels after heat treating. The most common grades are 410, 416, 420, and 440 series. These grades have adequate corrosion resistance and are magnetic.
Ferritic (iron, chrome) grades that are non-hardenable due to the low carbon alloy content. The most common grades are 409 and 430. These grades have good corrosion resistance and are magnetic.
Austenitic (iron, chrome, nickel, manganese) grades that cannot be hardened by heat treatment but can develop higher strength by cold working. The most common grades are 201, 301, 303, 304/304L, 316/316L, and 321. These grades have excellent corrosion resistance, formability, and weldability. They are non magnetic in the annealed condition, but become somewhat magnetic after cold working.
Precipitation Hardening (iron, chrome, nickel with copper, molybdenum, columbium, or aluminum additions) grades. The most common grades are 17-4, 15-5, 17-7, and A-286. The grades have good corrosion resistance, are easy to fabricate, and develop high strength by precipitation hardening reactions as a result of heat treating. These grades (except for A-286) are magnetic in the heat treated condition.
Duplex (iron, chrome, nickel, molybdenum, nitrogen) grades that are more resistant to stress corrosion cracking than the austenitic grades, with better toughness than the ferritic grades because they combine both these metallurgical structures. The major grades are 2205, 2304, and 2507 and they are magnetic.
The stainless steel product forms manufactured by the domestic industry are semi- finished (ingots, billets, slabs), flat rolled (sheet, strip, plate), and long products (bar, rod, wire).
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Nickel based/bearing alloys by definition contain nickel as the primary, if not dominate, alloying element ranging from 25% – 99%. They are often referred to as high performance alloys offering a combination of excellent corrosion resistance and strength.
There are four major nickel based/bearing alloy groups.
Corrosion resistant alloys are intended for use in industrial chemicals, food and beverage processing, salt water, and other environmental applications. The most common alloys are 200, 400, K-500, C-276, and Alloy 20.
High temperature resistant alloys are intended for use in industrial thermal processing applications and have sufficient strength to resist oxidation and hot gasses. All the alloys in this group contain nickel, chromium (15%-25%), and iron. The most common alloy is 600.
Superalloys are nickel based alloys but some do have cobalt as a predominant element in the alloy. These alloys are used in aerospace, defense, energy, and oil/gas applications requiring resistant to degradation by high temperature environments combined with extremely high strength and toughness at these elevated temperatures. The most common alloys are 625, 706, 718, 750, HX, Waspaloy, and MP-35-N.
Alloys with special physical properties (thermal, magnetic, electrical) that do not depend specifically on corrosion resistance or strength. These alloys contain both nickel and iron for controlled thermal expansion or magnetic properties, or nickel and chromium for electrical resistance. The most common alloys are Alloy 36, Alloy 42, Kovar, Alloy C, and 902.
The nickel based/bearing alloy product forms manufactured by the domestic industry are semi- finished (ingots, billets, slabs), flat rolled (sheet, strip, plate), long products (bar, rod, wire), and pipe & tube (seamless, welded).
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Titanium is a chemical element that can be produced as a commercial pure corrosion resistant metal or can be alloyed with vanadium, aluminum, molybdenum and other elements to produce high strength and corrosion resistant metals. These titanium metals have a density ratio about 50% of stainless steels and carbon steels.
There are two major titanium metal groups.
Commercial pure titanium grades (>99% titanium) that have excellent corrosion resistance with strength levels about equal to austenitic stainless steels. The primary applications for commercially pure titanium grades are in the industrial sector (chemical, petrochemical, desalination, pulp/paper). The most common grades are C35 (AISI Grade 1), C50 (AISI Grade 2), C65 (AISI Grade 3), and C75 (AISI Grade 4).
Titanium alloy grades that combine excellent corrosion resistance, high temperature strength, along with strength to weight ratio. The primary applications for titanium alloy grades are aerospace, defense, energy, oil/gas, medical, and high performance engines. The most common grades are 6Al-4V, and 3Al-2.5V.
The titanium metal alloy product forms manufactured by the domestic industry are semi- finished (ingots, billets, slabs), flat rolled (sheet, strip, plate), long products (bar, rod, wire), and pipe & tube (seamless, welded).
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Tool steels are iron based alloy steels with carbon content between 0.5% and 1.5% and major alloying elements (tungsten, chromium, vanadium, molybdenum) added for hardness and strength.
There are six alloy tool steel (family) groups.
Hot working tool steels were developed for strength and hardness during prolonged exposure to high temperatures in press forming operations. The most common grades are H11 and H13.
Cold working tool steels were developed to cut or form materials at low temperatures in applications requiring minimum distortion during heat treating. The most common grades are A2, A6 (air hardening grades), D2 (high carbon >1.20% – chromium 10%-15% grade), and O2 (oil hardening grade).
High speed tools steels were developed for cutting tool materials because they can withstand higher temperatures without losing their hardness. This feature allows faster (high speed) cutting than the other tool steels for power saw blades and drill bits. The most common grades are T1 (tungsten type), M2, M3, M7 (molybdenum types), and M35, M42 (cobalt types).
Water hardening tool steels are basically high carbon steels with small amounts of alloying elements like tungsten, vanadium, or molybdenum that develop the hardness properties after rapid water quenching. They are the most economical and used for small drills, lathes, and other light duty applications were wear resistance is required. Water hardening tool steels cannot be used in high temperature applications. The most common grade is W2 (vanadium addition).
Shock resistant tool steels were developed for high strength and impact toughness for use in shear blades, punches, and stamping dies requiring resistance to shock loading at both low and high temperatures. The most common grades are S5, and S7.
Special purpose tool steels were developed to cover miscellaneous applications such as P20 for plastic injection mold dies, and L6 (high strength low alloy) for toughness.
The tool steel product forms manufactured by the domestic industry are semi- finished (forged die blocks), flat rolled (sheet, strip, plate), and long products (bar, rod, wire).
Please refer to the education, applications, and members/sponsors sections for more detailed information.