Stainless steel

Our machine services: turning, milling and free-cutting of stainless steel

Final Advanced Materials supplies custom-made stainless steel parts according to your plans. Our expertise in turning, milling and free-cutting enables us to meet a wide variety of requirements. Final has a high-performance machines fleet and the expertise to machine stainless steel from prototype to series production.

Description of stainless steel

Stainless steel is a family of steels mainly alloyed with chromium (minimum 10.5%) and with nickel. It is a versatile material that offers many useful properties for many applications. There are four main families of stainless steel: martensitic, ferritic, austenitic and heat-resistant.

Applications for stainless steel

Thanks to its outstanding mechanical, chemical and thermal properties, stianless steel finds applications in various fields. Stainless steel is resistant to corrosion and chemical attack. As a result, it is used in the manufacturing of mechanical parts, medical equipment, in the chemical industry and in the food industry.

• General mechanical parts
• Parts for chemical & hydrocarbon process lines
• Parts for food production lines
• Parts of medical equipment
• Industrial screws and bolts in the construction industry
• Sanitary parts and equipment
• Boat parts or other equipment subject to marine salt
• Furnace parts
  

Benefits of stainless steel

There are different types of stainless steel, each with specific properties in terms of corrosion resistance, heat resistance, machinability and weldability.

• A wide range of sizes
• A wide of shapes and profiles
• High corrosion resistance (durability and safety)
• Ease of use by traditional processes: welding, machining, bending, folding, drawing
• High mechanical performance characteristics
• Attractive surface state
• Satisfactory creep resistance
• Satisfactory ductility
• Magnetic or non-magnetic
  

Main families of stainless steels

Martensitic steel

These steels contain a least 12% chromium and a maximum of 10% nickel. The carbon content is very low, 0.1% to 1.5%. The main advantage of this type of steel is its excellent hardenability by heat treatment. They are used when the mechanical resistance requirements are high. Due to the entirely martensitic structure, these steels have high elasticity, breakage resistance and hardness. However, this steel is not suitable for use at very low temperature.

Ferritic steels

The basic composition has a chromium rate higher than 12%, a nickel rate of under 2% and a carbon rate of under 0.2%. These steels have good ductility, offering satisfactory cold shaping properties. The corrosion resistance of these steels is far greater than that of martensitic steels. The best corrosion properties are obtained after heat treatment. However, this steel is not suitable for use at very low temperature.

Austenitic and superaustenitic steels

They are by far the most common stainless steels, due to their ductility, which is comparable to that of copper, and their high mechanical performance characteristics. The high nickel content (> 10%) appreciably improves corrosion resistance and resistance to aggressive environmental conditions. The chromium content is higher than 19%, and the carbon content is very low. Stability can be improved by elements such as titanium or niobium. Superaustenitic stainless steel has excellent general or localised corrosion resistance, in particular in highly oxidising environments. It should however be noted that there is a risk of corrosion under stress in certain chlorinated environments (e.g.: swimming pools).

The austenitic structure, and the malleability relating to it, result in excellent stiffness, even at low temperature. However, good stiffness results in poor machinability of the material.

Austenitic steels are non-magnetic and cannot be treated by quenching.

Heat-resistant steels

Heat-resistant steels have high chromium and nickel contents. They resist corrosion, oxidisation and warm creep, and are principally used in heating or treatment furnaces. Service temperatures are between 900°C and 1,150°C. These steels retain satisfactory mechanical properties at high temperatures, but their plastic deformation is limited.

We also supply a range of steel, aluminium, bronze, copper, inconel^® and brass. Final has the machining facilities to ensure a quality that meets your requirements.

Our machine services: turning, milling and free cutting of stainless steel

Final Advanced Materials supplies custom-made stainless steel parts according to your plans. Our expertise in turning, milling and free cutting enables us to meet a wide variety of requirements. Final has a high-performance machines fleet and the expertise to machine stainless steel from prototype to series production.

Technical data