STEEL CLASSIFICATION

There are so many types of steel and it can be classified by the application.
1. Structural Steel:
It was used to make metal structural parts in buildings, bridges, ships, boilers and etc. Such as carbon structural steel, low alloy steel, steel bar and etc,
It also is the material of structural parts on mechanical equipment. These steels are basically high-quality steel. The main parts are high-quality carbon structural steel, alloy structural steel, free cutting steel, spring steel, rolling bearing steel and etc.
2. Tool Steel:
Tool Steel always is made various tools, such as carbon tool steel, alloy tool steel, high-speed tool steel. It can be divided into cutting tool steel, mold steel and measuring steel by the application.
3. Special Steel:
It is with special properties, so people called it special steel. Such as stainless acid-resistant steel, heat-resistant steel, high-resistance alloy, wear-resistant steel, magnetic steel and etc.

Classified by chemical composition
1. Carbon steel:
Low carbon steel (C ≤ 0.25%), low strength, low hardness and soft. Often used in the manufacture of chains, rivets, bolts, shafts, etc. It includes most of the ordinary carbon structural steel and some high-quality carbon structural steel. Most of them are used for engineering structural parts without heat treatment, and some steel is used for carburizing and other heat treatment for mechanical parts requiring wear resistance.

Medium carbon steel (0.25% ≤ C ≤ 0.60%)has good thermal processing and cutting performance, poor welding performance. Plasticity and toughness are lower than low carbon steel. The hot rolled material and the cold drawn material may be directly used without heat treatment. The medium carbon steel after quenching and tempering has good comprehensive mechanical properties. The highest hardness that can be achieved is about HRC55 (HB538). So medium carbon steel is the most widely used in various applications at medium strength levels. Except being used as building materials, it is also used in the manufacture of various mechanical parts.

High carbon steel (C ≤ 0.60%) often been called tool steel, it can be hardened and tempered. Hammers, crowbars, etc. are made of steel which with a carbon content of 0.75%, and cutting tools such as drills, wiretapping reamers, and the like are made of steel having a carbon content of 0.90% to 100%.

2. Alloy steel:
Low alloy steel (total content of alloying elements <5%)
Medium alloy steel (total content of alloying elements >5~10%)
High alloy steel (total content of alloying elements >10%).

There are many types of steel and each one has its own application. It is very important to choose the right steel type according to the field that you in. We can find steel supply companies more easily right now behind the quick development of the network. Keep communicating with steel supplier or steel distributors and establish the type, grade, size, tolerance, delivery time and etc. By the way, you can ask the steel sample. Then you can fully understand the steel supply company of service, quality, price and more.