What is a common grade of stainless is found in vacuum cleaners, window blinds, auto trim, eating utensils, window hardware, and aerospace applications?  301 stainless steel strip!

One of the most versatile stainless steels for a wide variety of applications is 301 stainless steel strip. It has several properties that make it well-suited for manufacturing high-strength, room-temperature products. 301 stainless steel strip is available in standard grade and high silicon.

Composition of 301 Stainless Steel Strip

Type 301 (UNS 30100) stainless steel is part of the austenitic group. It’s an alloy containing chromium and nickel.

Type 301 has a chromium content of 16.0-18.0% and a nickel content of 8.0-10.0%. Chromium is what makes stainless steel more resistant to rust. 301 stainless steel has a lower nickel content and a higher carbon content than other types of stainless steel.

Composition of 301Si Stainless Steel

If your application needs high ductility at extra hard tempers, Type 301Si (UNS 301116) is a good choice. 301Si has higher silicon than traditional 301 stainless steel.

Standard 301 has a silicon content of no more than 1.0. The silicon content of Type 301Si is 1.0-1.35.

The additional silicon gives you good ductility at a higher tensile strength. Yield strength is less limited than with traditional 301. It provides more formability with less cracking.

Tensile on 301si is typically 270k min but available in higher ranges.

Edge Condition

Providing a deburred or round edge increases the uniformity of the spring and reduces the chance of injury. Deburring the edges improves the shape of the strip. It has less camber and less wave.

It is also noted by spring manufacturers that the edge can positively impact the performance and cycle life of the constant force spring.

Corrosion Resistance

Even with its higher carbon and lower nickel content, Type 301 is very resistant to corrosion. It resists corrosion from factors including atmospheric conditions, food, and road de-icing salt. Corrosion in austenitic stainless steels is usually the result of chromium carbide precipitation. 

Cold working followed by annealing creates the best corrosion resistance. A second annealing process dissolves chromium carbides and removes discoloration. This restores its corrosion resistance at weld or laser-cut edges.

Toughness and Fatigue Limit 

Type 301 stainless steel maintains its toughness even after cold rolling to a high tensile strength. The Charpy impact test is a standardized high strain-rate test that measures toughness. At room temperature, annealed 301 stainless steel strip has Charpy V-notch energy absorption values greater than 100 feet per pound.

Fatigue is a combination of elastic deflection and plastic deflection. Elastic deflection is the movement and returning to shape of a spring after a load is placed on it and then removed. Plastic deflection describes how much a spring changes its shape permanently after it receives a load.

Materials with higher fatigue resistance make springs that last longer. Higher fatigue resistance also helps the spring handle a greater load.

The fatigue or endurance limit in bending for annealed austenitic stainless steels like Type 301 is around half of the tensile strength.

Specifications

Type 301 is typically order to the ASTM A240 and ASTM A666. ASTM A240 governs chromium and chromium-nickel stainless steel. ASTM A666 describes the standards for annealed or cold-worked austenitic stainless steel.

Combined Metals: The Right Supplier for 301 Stainless Steel Strip

Type 301 stainless steel strip is a versatile material that is well-suited for many applications including springs, construction products, auto-trim, food service, and aerospace.

Capabilities:

Gauge .002” – .120”
Width .187” – 49”
Edging Services
Buffing/Polishing
Blanking/CTL

Combined Metals of Chicago is ready to be your 301 stainless steel strip partner. For More information or to request a quote: