Stainless Steel Shaft Grades and Types

When selecting stainless steel products, the most important consideration is that the product must not let its users down. To get the best performance in demanding applications, the right choice has to be made, and the product chosen most often in this respect is the stainless steel shaft. It is exceptionally durable and also appeals to the eye, which is why it is, so to speak, indispensable to the construction and decoration industries.

In years past, the stainless steel shaft that first came to mind was grade 304. This grade, however, cannot fight corrosion effectively in every environment. To overcome this problem, the higher grade 316 is now more often preferred, as it offers the most effective solution against corrosion. Grade 316 is itself divided into three main categories: 316, 316L and 316Ti. Standard 316 is the stable version, 316L has a lower carbon content, and 316Ti is the version with titanium added to the alloy. These differences give each version its own set of properties.

The 316 series, which offers the most effective solution for work carried out under demanding conditions such as acidic environments, is more corrosion-resistant than the standard 304 series. Where the 304 series can suffer material loss under harsh conditions, this problem is not seen with 316. Although 316 appears somewhat more advantageous than 304, the 304 series has its own particular advantages. Besides these, there are several other stainless steel shaft grades, which can be listed as follows.

• 304

• 304L

• 309S

• 310

• 310S

• 316

• 316L

• 316Ti

• 321

• 430

Applications of Stainless Steel Shafts

Stainless steel products offer users the most effective solution wherever steel is needed, and each product within the range has its own areas of use, shaped by the grades described above. The fields in which these products are most frequently used include:

• Industrial plants,

• Construction,

• Ventilation systems,

• The chemical industry,

• The manufacture of furnaces and furnace components,

• The manufacture of heat-resistant products.