Characteristics of Stainless Steel
Stainless steel is an alloy steel with a chromium content of 10.5% or more and a carbon content of 1.2% or less. Chromium forms a passive film on the surface that protects the main body, giving it rust resistance.
It has excellent corrosion resistance, mechanical strength, and heat resistance, and is used in various applications such as machine parts and foundations of structures.
It is classified as a difficult-to-cut material. This indicates that it has low thermal conductivity, and the heat generated during cutting is concentrated on the cutting tool, making the tool prone to failure.
Another reason why it is a difficult material to cut is that it undergoes a work hardening phenomenon in which its hardness increases significantly during machining.
Strengths:
High Corrosion Resistance Stainless steel has a very thin passive film formed on its surface due to the effect of chromium. This protects the surface from oxidation, making it less prone to rust. The corrosion resistance of stainless steel improves as the chromium content increases.
High Heat Resistance Stainless steel does not significantly reduce its tensile strength up to 500°C. However, when the temperature exceeds 500°C, the strength begins to decrease, especially the strength of martensitic and ferritic stainless steel decreases rapidly.
High Strength Stainless steel is generally stronger than iron and is used in situations requiring high strength.
Points to Note:
Difficult-to-Cut Material Stainless steel is characterized by low thermal conductivity. During cutting, the heat generated is difficult to dissipate, putting pressure on the tool’s cutting edge, reducing the tool's lifespan. Additionally, if the material undergoes work hardening, making the material extremely hard during machining, it becomes challenging to process. Due to these characteristics, stainless steel is considered a difficult-to-machine material, which is why machining costs are high.
Hydrogen Embrittlement Stainless steel is a material prone to hydrogen embrittlement, which reduces strength due to the effect of hydrogen.
Types of Steel: Martensitic stainless steel is a type of stainless steel with relatively low chromium content (about 13%) and high carbon content. This includes SUS303, SUS304, etc. Since it has less chromium to form an oxide film, its corrosion resistance is inferior to other types of stainless steel but has better hardness and wear resistance.
It can be hardened and quenched by annealing.
Stainless Steel Machining We can handle both processing of supplied materials and processing after purchasing materials.
The minimum lot is 1 drawing/1 piece. We handle processing and prototyping of custom-manufactured parts. We also have a mass production system in place, so please feel free to contact us.
