WHAT IS CARBON STEEL?
Plain-carbon steel or Carbon Steel is a metal alloy. It’s a mixture of two components, iron and carbon. Other components are present in small quantities to have an effect on its properties. The only different components used in plain-carbon steel are: manganese (1.65% max), silicon (0.60% max), and copper (0.60% max). Steel with low carbon content has similar properties as iron, soft but easily formed. With a lot of carbon, the metal gains hardness and strength but becomes less ductile and harder to weld. Higher carbon content lowers the steel's melting point and its temperature resistance gradually.
TYPES OF CARBON STEEL
- Mild (low carbon) steel: around 0.05% to 0.25% carbon content with up to 0.4% manganese content (for example AISI 1018 steel). Less solid yet modest and simple to shape; surface hardness can be expanded through carburizing
- Medium carbon steel: approximately 0.29% to 0.54% carbon content with 0.60 to 1.65% manganese content (e.g. AISI 1040 steel). Equalizations flexibility and quality and has nice wear opposition; utilized for expansive components, making and vehicle components.
- High carbon steel: around 0.55% to 0.95% carbon content with zero.30 to 0.90% metallic component content. Extremely solid, utilized for springs and high-quality wires.
- Very High carbon steel: around 0.96% to 2.1% carbon content, extraordinarily handled to create explicit nuclear and atomic microstructures.
Steel might be heat treated which enables parts to be made-up in an effectively formable delicate stage. If enough carbon is available, the combination will be solidified to broaden quality, wear, and effective resistance. Steels are generally framed by cool working ways, which is the molding of metal through deformation at a low balance or temperature.
HEAT TREATMENTS
The purpose of heat treating plain-carbon steel is to change the mechanical properties of steel, usually ductility, hardness, yield strength, and impact resistance.