The Benefits of Annealed Spring Steel
Annealed Spring Steel is a type of steel with high yield strength, elasticity, and resilience. This material is used to create a variety of items, including flat springs, dowel pins, and automotive clutch plates.
Metals build up stress over time, a process known as work hardening. Annealing these metals softens them and makes them more ductile, which can extend the lifespans of shop tools.
Aviation Sector
A major area where Annealed Spring Steel has a huge benefit is in the aviation sector. Aircraft landing gears are usually made out of a variety of materials, including aluminium and titanium alloys. However, steel remains the favourite choice as it offers a very high yield strength and toughness – both essential qualities for the safe operation of aircraft.
Malleability is another important property that helps make annealed spring steel ideal for use in the aviation industry. This refers to a metal’s ability to be bent without cracking or breaking. The best way to test for this property is by using a hardness tester, which gives an absolute measure of how much force can be applied before the material begins to break.
Another key aspect of annealed spring steel is its ductility. This means that it can be stretched or pulled without breaking. It can be measured by a tensile strength test, which measures the amount of stress that a metal can withstand before it breaks.
An example of a spring steel grade that is suitable for the aviation industry is AISI 6150, which is a chromium vanadium alloy. It has good resistance to abrasion and shock, and can be used for aircraft parts that are subjected to high stresses and vibrations. This grade can also be hardened and tempered, which increases its strength, allowing it to withstand more stress and vibrations.
Agriculture and Gardening Sector
The agricultural industry is one of the most important ones in terms of keeping a population fed. It’s also one of the most advanced industries today thanks to the technological advancements made possible by modern farming equipment and machinery. These machines and structures are largely comprised of Annealing Steel Strip steel and other metals. They’re essential for keeping crops thriving and livestock healthy. From tractors to feed pails to irrigation systems, there are many ways that the steel industry supports the agriculture and farming sector.
In the agricultural industry, steel is a top choice due to its durability and affordability. It’s also ideal for a variety of environments that are filled with dirt, moisture, harsh chemicals and extreme temperatures. Steel is resistant to rust and corrosion, especially when it’s hot-dip galvanized.
Gardening and landscaping are other important sectors that rely on steel to make significant progress in their respective fields. This is because these areas are filled with equipment and tools that must be durable and able to withstand intense wear and tear. Lawn mowers are a great example of this, as they’re built to cut through acres of grass with ease. This is made possible by the use of cold-rolled medium to high carbon steel in their construction.
In addition to lawn mowers, tools like sickles, hammers and wood-saw blades are also made of spring steel. This is because this material can be easily shaped and manipulated into the desired shape, and is easy to form post-heat treatment. National Material Company is prepared to provide these materials and other types of metals to a variety of OEMS that work in the agricultural and farming industry.
Musical Instruments Sector
The music industry is a great place to find premium metal products, including spring steel. This metal strikes a balance between strength and flexibility, which makes it ideal for musical instruments and other products that require significant pliability while maintaining structural integrity. Piano wire, for example, uses spring steel to maintain its elasticity while resisting the pounding of the hammers on its strings.
In the spring sector, steel is often tempered to create a stronger and tougher product. This process involves heating the metal to a high temperature before slowly cooling it down to create ductility. This gives the finished product more strength and a greater ability to bend, which reduces the risk of fracture during fabrication.
Stainless spring steel is another common choice for manufacturing applications. This material can withstand temperatures up to 550 degrees Fahrenheit and offers corrosion resistance. Stainless steel alloys such as 302 (with 18 percent chromium and 8 percent nickel) are popular choices for their high tensile strengths and uniform properties.
Custom fabricator of standard & specialty music wire for small spring applications in various diameters, including cut length & coil form. Finishing capabilities include black oxide, zinc/tin, gold, silver & rust preventative plating, powder coating, shot peening, passivating & heat treating. Other Hardened & Tempered Steel Strip Supplier services include bar coding, CAD design, color coating, spring end grinding, stress relieving & tumbling/deburring.
Automotive Sector
Many automotive companies use spring steel parts to provide the necessary flexibility and strength for a vehicle’s suspension system. This is because these types of steel can withstand significant twisting and bending without breaking. The steel’s resilience is determined by its composition and heat treatment processes.
A common process for making spring steels more resilient is tempering. This involves heating the material to a high temperature, but the temperature isn’t enough to make it brittle. The metal is then tempered and quenched, which helps to increase its hardness and improve its tensile properties.
Another way to make a spring steel more durable is by shot peening it. This is a popular finishing technique that involves hitting the metal with ceramic, glass, or metallic particles. This process is believed to extend the alloy’s lifespan up to 10 times.
A wide variety of spring steels can be used in the automotive industry, including chromium vanadium and silicon manganese. These alloys are less expensive than chromium-vanadium steel, but they still have good fatigue resistance and strength. Gibbs Interwire stocks both these grades in a range of sizes. The annealed steel is suitable for light springs, while the pre-tempered alloys are ideal for heavy duty applications. Both are available in round and square sections up to 0.500 inch. Other shapes may be available upon request, but they’re subject to extended lead times.
