Application & Usage Guide
The Right Material for the Mission.
Material selection is a critical strategic decision. The right choice leads to a reliable, long-lasting component; the wrong choice leads to premature failure and costly consequences. This guide is designed to help you navigate the trade-offs between strength, toughness, wear resistance, and cost to find the perfect steel for your specific mission.
High-Strength Shafts & Axles
The Challenge: Components must resist bending, twisting, and rotational fatigue without fracturing under high-stress, continuous operation.
EN8D
The reliable workhorse. Offers a great balance of strength and toughness for a wide range of general to medium-duty shafts and axles.
SAE 4140 / EN19
The chromoly upgrade. Significantly higher tensile strength and toughness make it ideal for more demanding, high-stress applications.
EN24
The ultimate choice. Nickel content provides exceptional toughness and shock resistance for the most critical, high-impact, and shock-loaded shafts.
Gears & Drivetrains
The Challenge: A perfect synergy of a diamond-hard surface to resist wear on the teeth, and a tough, resilient core to absorb shock loads without shattering.
20MnCr5 / 16MnCr5
The economical automotive standard. An excellent chrome-manganese steel that provides a reliable hard case and tough core for high-volume manufacturing.
SAE 8620 / SCM420
The Ni-Cr-Mo advantage. Nickel and Molybdenum provide superior core toughness and strength, making it ideal for more critical, higher-stress gear applications.
EN353
For extreme duty. The high nickel content delivers exceptional core strength and impact resistance for the most brutal, heavy-duty transmission components.
High-Wear & Fatigue Components
The Challenge: Components like bearings and dies must withstand millions of cycles under immense compressive stress without surface or sub-surface failure.
EN9
The high-carbon workhorse. Offers excellent surface hardness and wear resistance for general-purpose high-wear parts like cams and machine knives.
EN31 / SAE 52100
The bearing steel standard. A high-purity chromium steel engineered for exceptional hardness and fatigue life, essential for all bearing applications.
High-Volume Machined Parts
The Challenge: The primary goal is maximum production speed, longest tool life, and a perfect surface finish to reduce cost-per-part.
EN8M
Combines the good strength of EN8 with excellent machinability, a great balance for stronger components made at a high volume.
EN1A
The industry standard for automatic lathes. Provides exceptional machining speed and a superior finish for non-leaded applications.
12L14
The pinnacle of speed. The addition of lead provides the highest possible machinability rating for the absolute fastest, most efficient production cycles.
Springs & Resilient Components
The Challenge: The material must flex under load and return to its original shape perfectly, millions of times, without breaking or losing tension.
EN42
The reliable carbon spring steel. A proven, economical choice for general-purpose springs like washers, circlips, and clips that require consistent spring-back.
SAE 9254
The high-performance alloy. Silicon and chromium provide superior fatigue life and resistance to setting, essential for dynamic springs like vehicle suspension.