Steel is among the most common industrial materials in the world. It's produced by combining iron with different elements through chemical and physical reactions through specific applications. Because of so many different combinations available in the industry, choosing the right kind of steel materials becomes a challenge.
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Alloy steel and carbon steel are two common steel variants and are used across different industries because of their distinct properties. Understanding those differences is important as it allows manufacturers to properly utilize the types of steel to get the most out of the material being used.
Carbon steel, as its name suggests, is a steel variant that primarily uses different concentrations of carbon mixed with Iron to create a strong, robust, and versatile alloy. Generally, some variants also have trace amounts of elements like Manganese and Silicon, but carbon remains the most predominant in the mixture.
Things that make carbon steel great are its relative simplicity, versatility, and lower production costs. It doesn't require any elaborate production process and can be quickly produced. However, that simplicity results in relatively lower strength, hardness, and corrosion resistance.
The type of carbon steel depends on the concentration of carbon in the mixture. Generally, there are 4 categories based on the amount of carbon content.
Contains about 0.3% carbon, and is also referred to as mild steel. It is characteristically ductile and is an excellent material for applications requiring a lot of flexibility and intricate profiles. Steel wires and fences are prime examples of mild steel materials.
Carbon content between 0.3% and 0.6% in the mixture. It is more durable than low-carbon steel and is often used in applications that require a balance of strength and ductility. Common applications include the manufacturing of axles, gears, and shafts.
Carbon Content is around 0.6% to 1.4%, making it much harder and stronger than low and medium-carbon steel. High-carbon steel is often used in applications that require high strength. For instance, cutting tools, knives, and springs are made from high-carbon steel.
Contains between 1.4% and 2.0% carbon, and is also known as cast iron. It is very hard and brittle and is commonly used in applications that require extreme hardness and wear resistance.
Alloy Steel is a combination of Iron, Carbon, and various other elements like Nickel, Chromium, and Molybdenum. The additional elements make alloy steel unique and enhance the already excellent physical properties like strength, toughness, and corrosion resistance to a new extreme.
All of the aforementioned qualities, however, come at a cost. The process of creating alloy steel is more elaborate and resource intensive than that of carbon steel. This means that alloy steel is more expensive and requires more time to create.
There is no one way to ascertain the types of alloy steel as the combinations and possibilities are limitless. However, the following 5 types are the most common:
1. Chromium Steel: As the name suggests, it contains chromium as the primary alloying element, which improves corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and high-temperature strength. It is quite expensive and is common in intensive applications like aerospace components and drilling equipment.
2. Nickel Steel: Nickel acts as the primary alloying element, which improves toughness, ductility, and corrosion resistance. It is commonly used in applications such as gas turbine blades, aircraft engine components, and chemical processing equipment.
3. Molybdenum Steel: This type of steel contains molybdenum as the primary alloying element, which improves high-temperature strength and wear resistance.
4. Vanadium Steel: Contains vanadium and delivers improved strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance. It is commonly used in applications such as axles, crankshafts, and gears.
5. Tool Steel: Contains a variety of alloying elements, such as chromium, molybdenum, and tungsten, which improve hardness, wear resistance, and toughness. Tool steel is usually used in cutters, jigs and fixtures, and tooling mold.
Technically, or by definition, carbon steel itself is an alloy as well. However, it's not considered as such because of the drastic alloy vs carbon steel differences. Carbon steel is not weak per se, alloy steel completely takes the inherent strength to the next level for high-intensity applications.
There are many other key differences and knowing them in detail is integral for any manufacturer so that they can make a smart choice during the material selection process.
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Alloy steel is a lot stronger than its carbon counterpart, thanks to the addition of multiple alloying elements like chromium and nickel. Similarly, alloy steel has a higher yield and tensile strength, which makes it suitable for a lot of intensive applications with high strength requirements.
Elements like Tungsten and Vanadium are known for their hardness without any additional process like heat treatment. The addition of these elements in steel alloy can also enhance the overall hardness and resistance to abrasion/indentations.
Carbon steel, on the other hand, also offers great hardness properties after extensive processes like heat treatment and tempering. However, it still doesn't come close to the hardness level of Alloy steel.
Generally, steel of any kind is pretty durable and that's why it's so commonly used across various industries. However, alloy steel possesses higher strength, hardness, and overall corrosion resistance than its carbon counterpart. Carbon steel can quickly corrode in many harsher environments and may even require multiple treatments to enhance its longevity and performance.
Carbon steel has a limited number of variants as there is a limit to how much carbon can be added to the mixture. Alloy steel, however, is different. There are limitless combinations to obtain specific values depending on the application requirements. From enhancing the corrosion resistance to increasing the strength or the durability of the metal, there is an alloy steel solution to meet the specific needs.
Naturally, carbon steel has a smaller number of elements in the mixture. So, it's simpler to create and process. Alloy steel, on the other hand, has a variety of constituent elements and all mixtures require different processing conditions.
Carbon steel has a simpler composition and doesn't need any elaborate processing. That's why it's considered a more cost-effective alternative to alloy steel.
Carbon steel and alloy steel combined are among the most versatile materials out there. The balance between strength, durability, performance, and corrosion resistance both materials offer is unmatched.
However, the following materials can be some close alternatives to steel in terms of a single aspect like corrosion resistance, enhanced durability, or overall strength.
A perfect alternative where corrosion resistance is the most important factor as Nickel is as close as it gets to a chemically inert material with reasonable strength and malleability.
Aluminum alloy is an expensive alternative to a lot of steel applications where strength, durability, and a high strength-to-weight ratio are required.
A light, strong, and extremely durable material that is commonly used in the aerospace sector. However, it's important to note that Titanium is extremely hard to process which is reflected by the overall cost of the material.
This is another great alternative with comparable strength, longevity, and corrosion resistance. However, most ceramics are extremely brittle, and that limits their applications to only a few sectors.
There's no denying that both alloy steel and carbon steel are extremely useful metals and are very popular among Xometry customers from a wide range of industries, but they're so similar that it can be hard to know the difference so you can choose between them. They're both strong, hard, and durable, and can be heat-treated to improve these factors. They're both mainly made up of iron, with small amounts of other elements like carbon, chromium, molybdenum, manganese, and nickel. As if that's not confusing enough, they can both be made in many different grades that each has its own set of unique benefits.
With all these similarities you could be inclined to believe that these metals are interchangeable, but you'd have to think again. There are some important differences that make them more or less suitable than the other in certain applications. We explain more about each of these steels further down and have even prepared a table that pits alloy steel and carbon steel against each other to see how they fare.
Alloy steel has carbon along with other alloying elements in it, like aluminum, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, silicon, or titanium. These other elements lend their strengths to the alloy steel, be it hardness, corrosion resistance, or durability. It's suitable for high-temperature applications and is a common material in construction, automotive, aerospace, petrochemical, and power plants. Just a few of the parts it's used for are gears, shafts, and axles.
Although there are many different steel alloy types, these generally fall into two categories: low-alloy steel and high-alloy steel. Low-alloy types are the most commonly used, popular in construction for pipes and beams. These are the alloys that will have carbon, manganese, silicon, copper, molybdenum, and/or nickel. They are ductile, but a bit weaker than other types.
High-alloy steel types have more than 5% of other elements (like chromium, vanadium, or tungsten) in them, which makes them extra strong and hard. They're used for car and machinery parts, and in sectors like power generation, and chemical processing.
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