Carbon steel is a series of engineering alloys of carbon and iron. The chromium levels are under 10.5%. It also contains up to about 1% carbon and up to 1.65% manganese, as well as other elements in specific quantities for deoxidation and residuals of other elements. When you look around your house, many things have some form of steel in them. Carbon steel is the most common form which constitutes up to 90% of steel production. These are further categorized as per carbon content into mild carbon, medium carbon and high carbon.
The applications are based on these compositions. The most common usage of carbon steel is in the construction industry due to its strength, ductility, and shock resistance. Below are other industries that benefit from its unparalleled properties. A thorough knowledge will help equipment manufacturers make informed choices.
Railway Tracks
The hard-wearing nature of carbon steel helps avoid cracking in railway lines. The tensile strength and hardness of naturally cooled railways depend on the proportion of the carbon content. In this case, up to a maximum of 0.82% carbon and manganese up to a maximum of 1.7% would be required to achieve the desired results. You may consider metallic coatings done in the form of galvanizing through a hot-dip operation.
Automotive Components
High carbon steel is used in panel trim clips, bumper clips, connectors in electrical terminals, airbag clips, and fuel rail clips. This is due to its ease of assembly. For instance, clips made from high carbon can be removed and re-applied several times. Further:
- Durability adds value while designing safety features in automobiles.
- Good resistance to wear and tear makes it ideal for vehicle frames, bushing, door panels, mufflers, support beams, and chassis.
Low-carbon steel is extensively found in exterior and interiors like the clutch, control arms, brackets, bolts, nuts and fasteners. The structure and stability are well maintained when these parts are made from carbon steel.
Tubing
The steel tubes market is expanding at a 2.1% CAGR to reach $114.8 billion by 2023 from $93.3 billion in 2022. Carbon steel pipes are specially used for sewage pipes and steam and vent pipes. This is because it is fire, earthquake, hurricane, and tornado-proof. Carbon steel can be made quite thin and can hold flowing liquids even under high pressure.
They have a large internal diameter that helps carry bigger capacities of gas and fluids than plastic or copper pipes. Further, carbon steel is resistant to strong chemicals which makes them less vulnerable to pesticides. In fact, carbon steel can ensure excellent performance in different industrial settings like high temperatures or changes in pH balance.
Machine Parts
Low and medium-carbon steel alloys are preferred in machine parts. These include gears, wheels, and crankshafts due to their toughness. Another reason is its excellent ductility. This helps stock materials to be transformed into toothed plates or thin shafts. The good news is that the tensile strength is not lost. Mild steel is used for building parts that can be case-hardened but whose core strength is not important. It has approximately 0.05-0.3% carbon making it highly malleable. Carbon steel is also used for high-volume parts like lightly stressed gears, shafts, pins and chains.
Other applications are in drivetrains and gearboxes. Medium carbon steel has well-balanced ductility and strength along with good resistance for forging applications and automotive needs.
Experienced professionals use the latest and most advanced cutting tools and data to meet the unique challenges of machining low-carbon steel due to its soft nature.
Die Casting
Carbon steel is one of the most popular materials in the world when it comes to casting. The die-casting market size is poised to reach $86.3 billion with a growth of 5.92% CAGR between 2023 and 2028. Carbon steel casting has a significant contribution due to its low cost and a variety of grade materials. It is typically used for motor and electrical appliances due to its ferromagnetic properties. The material is quite safe and is equipped with an impressive level of structural integrity. Other features which make it the first choice in casting are effectiveness and machinability.
Tooling
Tooling in manufacturing is a way of designing, cutting, shaping, and forming materials into product parts and components. Tool steel is a kind of carbon alloy steel which is ideal for tool manufacturing. The different types of tool steel grades are :
- shock resistance types
- hot-working
- water hardening
- air hardening
- oil hardening
Other types are dies, molds, gauges for measurements, jigs, fixtures, and workholding. Water hardening is especially high carbon steel which can achieve a good hardness. Carbon tool steels are conventionally made unalloyed so that they can be supplied annealed and with maximum standardized toughness.
Wiring
High carbon steels are used in the production of patented galvanized drawn wires. These are further used in auto cables, cold-formed helical springs, steel wire ropes, and wire forms. Carbon steel wires are also a good match for tire reinforcement materials, bridge cables, and cutting materials of silicon ingot for the photovoltaic industry. This is because it is able to achieve the finest diameter and, of course, high durability.
Domestic Appliances
Medium carbon steel is easier to machine. Small amounts of manganese and silicon can improve the overall quality making it structurally perfect for pipelines and couplings, cars, fridges and washing machines. Carbon steel with minimal amounts of carbon is known as ‘wrought iron’. This is used in beds, fencing, and railing. Low-carbon steel comes in wide choices of shapes like flats and beams due to compressive strength and excellent weldability. Its hardness can be enhanced with a heat treatment process called carburizing.
The flexibility of carbon steel is the primary reason manufacturers prefer it. The material is greatly used in shipbuilding as well due to high yield strength and tensile strength in a range of 490-620 MPa. Mild steel is used for ship structures that measure below 20 m, like bulkheads. With all these benefits, carbon is economical both upfront and in the later stages. Make sure to get in touch with experts who can promise value-added processing.
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