301 stainless steel sheet is an excellent choice for fabricating projects due to its strong durability and cost-effective pricing.
Hot rolling transforms 301 stainless steel into shapes and components through heating to change its microstructure and increase tensile strength.
301 stainless steel is ductile and easily formed, although more serious forming or multiple operations may require intermediate anneals due to its high work hardening rate. Furthermore, this metal boasts low magnet permeability.
Corrosion Resistance
301 stainless steel is well known for its superior corrosion resistance, as well as its ability to retain strength at higher temperatures, making it an excellent choice for applications involving exposure to extreme heat. Furthermore, 301 has higher tensile strength than aluminum, mild steel and most martensitic grades enabling it to be formed into complex shapes without losing its integrity.
301 stainless steel can withstand an array of chemicals, and is resistant to most bright oxidizing acids such as chlorine, sulfuric, and hydrochloric. As such, it has numerous applications across industries; in the automotive sector for example it is frequently used in making parts like hose clamps and wheel covers while it can also be found in subway cars, aircraft structural components, as well as for various industrial purposes.
As well as its excellent corrosion resistance, 301 stainless steel offers excellent formability, making it easy to shape and weld. Furthermore, cold working can enhance its ductility and toughness further. However, due to severe bending or multiple forming operations being required of it for certain forming applications; alternatively it might be wiser to switch over to using 304 stainless steel stampings instead.
301 stainless steel stands out as an exceptional corrosion-resistant grade at subzero temperatures, giving it more versatility than other austenitic grades and opening up new application possibilities.
Kloeckner Metals offers both standard grade 301 stainless steel and high performance variants of this grade in sheet form, including annealed, 1/4 hard, 1/2 hard tempers as well as polishing and beveling services. Contact us now to discover more or place an order – our products can be found nationwide!
Strength
301 stainless steel boasts both strength and ductility. It can be formed easily into shapes in its annealed condition and cold worked into many tempers without experiencing hardening by heat treatment, unlike many other austenitic alloys such as 302 which cannot.
301 stainless steel offers good resistance to mildly corrosive environments at ambient temperatures, yet may be susceptible to carbide precipitation during welding. It has wide applications including subway cars, aircraft structural parts, trailer bodies and automotive trim and molding as well as kitchen equipment, drainage products and conveyor belts.
301 stainless steel’s higher carbon content aids drawing and forming operations while slightly weakening its corrosion resistance. Furthermore, this material features high tensile and yield strength as well as excellent ductility in its annealed state – qualities which distinguish 301 from similar grades of stainless steels.
The 301 grade of stainless steel contains 17% chromium and 7% nickel in its nominal composition, making it a low carbon alloy that does not exhibit magnetic properties when in its annealed state. Cold working allows it to be formed to various conditions and tempers for use as cold work tools; heat treating helps strengthen its structure further. 301 comes in many different sizes as well as finishes and tempers to choose from.
Due to its excellent ductility and corrosion resistance, 301 is one of the most sought-after grades of stainless steel austenitic material. 301 stainless is easily formed into various shapes, making it an excellent material choice for fabrications that require large bending or torsion as well as high levels of abrasion and impact resistance. Available in many gauges, widths and lengths – as well as bar and sheet form – it makes fabrication easy! 301 stainless steel can be processed under various conditions, including maraging, solution, hot and cold rolling, cold forming and cold bending. Annealed 1/4 hard and 1/2 hard tempers can also be supplied as non-hardened stress relieved conditions that allow welded components to be produced without further hardening required. These characteristics make 301 an exceptionally cost-effective, versatile and long-lasting grade of stainless steel.
Ductility
301 stainless steel stands out as an advantageous material due to its ductility. With superior work-hardening capability and resistance to stress corrosion cracking at room temperature, 301 can easily be cold formed into complex shapes while still retaining strength. Furthermore, this grade’s excellent stress corrosion cracking resistance means it can be used in applications which demand higher temperature resistance than that offered by its counterpart 304.
As 301 contains significantly lower Chromium and Nickel content than its cousin 304, it can be cold formed more easily without losing its tensile strength – in fact it boasts the highest stretch formability among 300 series stainless steels. Furthermore, 301 is non-magnetic at room temperature before becoming slightly magnetic when cold worked – something none of its 300 series stainless steels possess.
301 has excellent resistance to oxidation at temperatures up to 1500F, making it suitable for many different conditions and applications. However, due to its susceptibility to carbide precipitation during welding processes it should not be used above 1600F.
301 can be welded using standard procedures, but post weld annealing may be recommended to dissolve any residual chromium carbides and restore corrosion resistance in the weld area. Hot forming after welding will reduce its tensile strength and work hardening capabilities. Full hard and quarter hard are both available with quarter hard possessing minimum tensile strengths of 125 KSI ideal for applications that involve moderate drawing or forming; in general it has applications in automotive trim molding, aircraft construction, architectural ornamental applications as well as food and beverage industries.
Durability
301 stainless steels do not offer as much corrosion resistance as 18-8 chromium-nickel stainless steels due to carburization caused by welding processes; this results in reduced resistance against atmospheric corrosion as well as acidic liquids like food, juices and road de-icing salt. Regardless, its low cost makes 301 an appealing choice when applied for small applications like fasteners or springs.
As with other austenitic grades, 301 is non-magnetic in its annealed condition but becomes magnetic after cold working, making machining easy and quick while providing for high productivity in producing complex and accurate components. Due to sulphur’s impact on weld heat affected zone corrosion resistance it should be used sparingly during welding processes and avoided whenever possible.
This grade boasts excellent forming characteristics, enabling it to be bent, roll formed or drawn into many shapes with little difficulty. Due to its high work hardening rate and intermediate annealing requirements for severe drawing or forming applications. Furthermore, its weldability properties make welding applications simple for most welding methods.
As with other grades in the 300 series, 301 provides excellent corrosion resistance in mildly corrosive environments with ambient temperatures. It can resist pitting and crevice corrosion as well as pitting corrosion at different environments; its corrosion resistance increases with temperature increase; it even offers antipitting/crevice corrosion protection against cryogenic temperatures!
While 301 may be less costly than 304, its lower cost may be explained by its increased nickel and chromium content compared to that of 301. If prices of these metals increase in response, then 304 may become more cost effective than its cheaper alternative.
301 has an exceptionally higher tensile strength compared to 304 and can withstand greater mechanical force without breaking. As such, it makes an ideal material choice for fasteners and springs where high stress levels occur at elevated temperatures.
