Selecting the correct stainless steel product for your stainless steel fabrication project can appear to be an immense task, with many factors to consider. Here are some tips to help you make your decision:
Before you even begin your stainless steel fabrication project, the first thing you should do is refresh what you know about the different types of stainless steel, their common grades and specialty grades, and also the forms in which they are available. This will help you reach a better understanding of how to choose the right kind and grade by considering how their corrosion-resistance, physical and mechanical properties meet the requirements of your application.
Machining
The machining processes include milling, turning, threading and drilling. Stainless steels is usually more difficult to machine than standard carbon steel and a general rule is that the higher a steel's alloying content, the harder it is to machine. The ferritic grades are generally less difficult to machine than the standard austenitic grades.
Of the stainless steel grades, the free-machining grades are the closest to carbon steel.
Sheet Steal
In its semi-finished state stainless steel sheet goes through forming operations, starting with hot rolling, in which the steel is heated and passed through gigantic rolls. Blooms and billets are formed into bar and wire, while slabs are formed into plate, strip, and sheet steel. Sheet is less than .47 centimeters thick and more than 61 centimeters wide.
Stainless steel sheet metal goes through an initial annealing and descaling step immediately following hot rolling and forming. This is a heat treatment in which the steel is heated and cooled under controlled conditions to assuage internal stresses and soften the metal. After cold rolling (passing through rolls at a relatively temperature, which further reduces thickness, sheet and strip are annealed and descaled yet again. Certain steels are heat treated to develop greater strength. But this heat treatment, called age hardening, necessitates precise control, because even small changes in temperature, time, or cooling rate can seriously affect the properties. Lower aging temperatures create steel of high strength with low fracture toughness, while higher temperature aging lowers strength, but makes tougher material.
Finishing
Surface finishes result due to processes used in fabricating the various forms of stainless steel or is the result of further processing. There are many methods used for finishing. A dull finish is created by hot rolling, annealing, and descaling. A bright finish is made by first hot rolling and then cold rolling on polished rolls. A highly reflective finish is made by cold rolling together with annealing in a controlled atmosphere furnace, by grinding with abrasives, or by buffing a finely ground surface. A mirror finish is made by polishing with progressively finer abrasives, then extensive buffing.
Biography: Jake Hyet is considered an expert on
stainless steel fabrication Brisbane and
stainless metro steel sheets. This is knowledge he has gained by working in the steel industry, about which he now writes extensively.
