Processing Materials - Carbon steel (Part 1)

author: YITECH

2024-12-18

Our high-quality carbon steel grade 5 is perfect for use in manufacturing durable and reliable machinery and equipment.

1. What are steel and iron

(1) Definition of steel: steel is an alloy based on iron. Iron in the pure iron state brittle and easy to rust, can not be used as an industrial product. Therefore, carbon "C" as well as manganese and phosphorus are usually added to iron to be used in an alloy state. "Steel" refers to the material with a carbon content of about 0.02% to 2.14%.

(2) The carbon content of more than 2.1% is called "cast iron", and the carbon content of about 2.1% to 6.67% is treated as cast iron. When the amount of carbon is increased above this level, it will become brittle again and will not be used for industrial purpose.

(3) In JIS, iron with a carbon content of less than 0.02% is marked as "pure iron", iron with a carbon content of 0.02% to 2.14% is marked as "steel", and cast iron with a carbon content above this is marked as "iron". Pay attention to the definition of "iron" and "cast iron".

(4) The greater the amount of carbon contained in iron, the iron will become hard, and will become more brittle. It is not easy to deform even if it is subjected to force, and it is easy to destroy and crush when it is subjected to impact or force exceeding the allowable range. Therefore, mechanical and structural materials require both hardness and strength.

(5) Steel contains just the right amount of carbon to give iron both hardness and strength. And the materials that add manganese, chromium, titanium, etc. to the steel to make it have various characteristics are called alloy steel and special steel. At present, it has developed steel that is not easy to rust, steel with strong heat resistance and other special steels with various characteristics according to the purpose.

2. Characteristics of carbon steel

(1) Carbon steel is a kind of steel (steel), not alloy steel (special steel).

(2) The materials in steel that are not alloy steel and special steel are called carbon steel. That is, carbon steel is the original state of steel without special additives and without processing. The amount of elements other than iron "Fe" and carbon "C" in carbon steel is specified to be below a given value, such as chromium below 0.3% and titanium below 0.05%.

(3) Carbon steel according to the carbon content is divided into low carbon steel, medium carbon steel, high carbon steel.

(4) Carbon content of 0.02% ~ 0.25% is called low carbon steel, 0.25% ~ 0.6% is called medium carbon steel, 0.6% ~ 2.14% is called high carbon steel. The more carbon steel contains, the harder it is, so low carbon steel is used as a steel plate made by cold rolling that deforms the material at low temperatures, and high carbon steel is used for tools that require hardness, etc.\