Steel is an alloy of iron that contains a small amount of carbon, much less than cast iron and usually less than 1.7%. In general the tightly controlled carbon content determines how easily the steel can be hardened by heat treatments. Other alloying elements such as nickel or chromium can also be added to steel to create a wide variety of desirable characteristics.
Steel is usually separated into at least three groups. The most common groupings are: mild steels, carbon steels and alloy steels, each group having different overall attributes. Alloy steels use additional elements to greatly expand the physical and mechanical properties that steel can achieve. The addition of more than 10% chromium produces stainless steel.
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Nearest Equivalent Specification |
Available Products |
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EN1A
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A free cutting steel suitable for applications where good machinability and a good surface finish is required. The small amount of added lead improves machining with little effect on mechanical properties. |
| BS
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230M07
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EN3B
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A general purpose steel suitable for mechanical and allied engineering applications that will not be heavily stressed. Machinability and weldability are both good and it can be case-hardened. |
| BS
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080A15
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EN8
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A medium carbon steel that finds many applications where the mechanical properties required are just above those offered by the mild steels yet the expense of an alloy steel cannot be justified. |
| BS
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080M40
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EN16
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A manganese molybdenum steel that has excellent ductility and good machinability. It has a high tensile strength as well an ability to withstand shock loading. |
| BS |
605M36 |
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EN19
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A direct hardening alloy steel containing approximately 1% chromium. Good ductility combined with good tensile strength and shock resistance. Hardening produced high wear resistance. |
| BS
ISO |
708M40
42CrMo4 |
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EN24
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A 1.5% nickel chrome, direct hardening steel that has high strength and toughness. It finds many applications where high strength and impact resistance are requirements such axels, crankshafts and gears. |
| BS
ISO |
817M40
34CrNiMo6 |
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EN32
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A case hardening simple carbon steel with a hard wearing surface making it suitable for many low stress applications where an alloy steel is not required. |
| BS
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080M15
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EN36
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A nickel-chrome case hardening alloy steel for use in heavy duty applications such as rollers, gears and cams. High strengths can be achieved by carburising and hardening. |
| BS
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655M13
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EN40B
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A chromium-molybdenum nitriding steel containing around 3% chromium. Hardening produces a highly wear resistant surface with good shock resistance. Ductility remains good. |
| BS
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722M24
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EN41
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A chromium aluminium molybdenum nitriding steel containing around 1.5% chromium. High internal strength can be combined with a hard nitrided surface. |
| BS
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905M31
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Other Steels
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See Aerospace Steel Bar, Maraging Steel and Special Steels. |
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