Steel Numbering System
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- čas přidán 7. 09. 2024
- In this video I give a brief explanation of the AISI steel numbering system for carbon, alloy, and tool steels. Also, I discuss some of the steels we use in our production as well as offer for sale.
CLARIFICATION: The carbon content is expressed in tenths or hundredths of a percent depending on wether there is a digit in the hundredths place. In the example of 4150 steel, the 50 stands for .5% percent, or 5 tenths of a percent or 1/2 of a percent. With 1095 steel, it has .95% carbon or 95 hundredths of a percent.
www.jasonalono...
VERY plain and simple. No noise, no crap. WELL DONE!
That is a great complement. Thanks!
Oh and no annoying Intro
I watched this with no real need beyond basic understanding, but i find someone offering even esoteric knowledge so clearly and jargon-free is irresistible. Really well presented; my thanks!
Glad it was enjoyable!
Same here!
Masterclass on how to present information correctly and concisely. Thank you!
One of the best short intro to steel types I have seen. Super cool. :)
Glad you liked it!
Very well done. Like another person said, no obnoxious music or jarring graphics. Just good information well presented. Thanks.
Agreed. Although the sound quality is a bit hollowed out when the mic is this far away. The voice isn't crisp and sharp. A lapel mic is the way to go. A bit echoey.
I'm not much of a metalworker, but always wondered what those numbers meant. Many thanks for a concise, helpful and informative explanation. Well done.
Glad it was helpful!
Real informative. Nicely presented. I like the cards with the numbers plainly written. Easy to follow being able to see the numbers as you spoke about each one.
Thank you.
" I like the cards with the numbers plainly written. " Inspired, possiby, by Bob Dylan's 1965 'video' that accompanied his song "subterranean Homesick Blues" He used flashcards to, perhaps, imprint the lyrics in our minds... Seemed innovative then, but probably had precedent in silent movies? It is, good, though, in that the data is front and centre, we're not distracted by a presenter turning to a board behind him...
The SAE system is pretty straight forward What annoys me is when you deal with "older"? Machinists they use "trade name " like "silver steel" so I cant make quick decisions on steel as I have to look up the trade name THEN we get on to the Japanese system it would be really nice if there was ONE system
Many other STANDARDS have very different specs. for specific purposes that do not fit into the SAE system . Not all specs are based on the content but on other qualities .
I knew an ( old machinist ) that could look and listen to the steel and tell you what the content was and if he needed to know the amount of carbon the grinder could tell him that . Sadly the old machinist are gone for the most part and the new breed of cnc college born people who cant fix anything without an analysis
Yeah, silver steel, kite, keewatin, high speed. We used to colour code and stamp the steel stock .
Thank You! I learned something that I should have learned 60+ years ago.
Glad it was helpful!
I get good results from using 1045.
A good general use metal is especially popular for CNC Turned components.
Another positive of this metal is that it can be hardened to well over 50 Rockwell in either Water or Oil.
Very well done, thank you.
These videos are becoming a rarity on YT. Videos that are practical, useful, and helpful take a backseat to flashy, "sponsored", overly-produced marketing material made to promote and commercialize the channel.
Very good short intro to a Big subject.
Thanks.
Never saw a video of this channel, but i liked how it was explained, always had this doubt in my mind but i never had actually searched for it 😂
Good info! This is the system I learned when I started my T&D apprenticeship back in '77. But there seems to be a bunch of trade-names and letter/number combinations for todays 'designer' alloys.
hahaha ya beat me to it ! Exactly
There have always been trade names used by steel producers. Some l can think of just from using them . Graph-Mo (O-6) from Latrobe Steel. They also had Graph-Air (A-10). Both graphitic tool steels with excellent machinability. Hy-10M. An oil hardening die steel. Mirralloy. A TG&P shafting steel. Carpenter 158 (P-6). Oil hardening mold steel also used for machinery parts. Then there are the non ferrous metals. Having both trade names and common names. The Ampcos, Mic 6, German Silver (copper-nickel alloy) and others.
@@mpetersen6 Yep, we used to buy so much we'd get a trailer direct from Carpenter. 16ft lengths of A6 Vega, S7 Bearcat, O2 Stentor, A2 Air-Wear, etc.
Crucible has own their trade-names too.
CPM-123-xyz is what I'm seeing a lot of now. And it seems todays designer knife-makers have their own alpha-numeric code which I haven't figured out yet.
we used 4340 for the axles on our drums for head and tail pulleys on our elevator belt unloading conveyors due to it's added toughness over 4140 . we used the higher grade as used in the mining industry for durability . thanks for an easy to understand , well explained video !!
I work in a forge shop as a designer, brand new to the industry. I’ve got a whole list of different kinds of steel with their densities which I use for calculating weights among other things. This was pretty informative.
Glad it was helpful to you.
Not a machinist, surprised such low percentages could make so much difference in performance.
-- Thanks for the quick education. ---
Very welcome! Yes, a minute difference in carbon content makes a big difference in performance.
I just clicked on the video and I don't know if it's good or not, but I just want to send some appreciation just for posting the video and trying to share the knowledge 🎉
An object lesson in presentation; no fluff, no guff and absolutely on point. Thank you for taking the time and trouble. Bravo !
You left out M tool steels. Usually called High Speed steel used as a cutting tool. Probably one of the most important tool steels out there. M2, M3, and M42 are common.
As for 5160, it's spring steel very common in leaf springs (6150 in coil springs) and if you're into knife making, 5160 is a nice material for sword blades.
Been involved in manufacturing and metals my whole life, although carbon steels are more on the rare side. We work mostly with steels like Alloy20, Incoloy800, CD4, Duplex 2205, H-loy C, 440C, Nitronic50, 316L, Ferralium 255, etc., although 9310 and 8620 are not uncommon for pivot pins.
Bottom line, it's nice to see other people out there who work with their hands AND their minds to make things. 🙂
You are right, the M series is very important. I inadvertently left it out of my non-exhaustive list since I don't use it as much as some steel. Someone once gave me a piece of M50. What can you tell me about that one?
@@jasonlonontoolmaker
Don't think I've ever worked with that steel.
@@jasonlonontoolmaker
I looked it up. Looks like it's a bearing steel similar to 52100.
@@jasonlonontoolmaker that would be high carbon, high vanadium bearing and tooling steel used where fatigue strength is needed. Punches and dies in my experience are the usual uses but for a blacksmith the wear resistance, toughness and strength at high temps might make it a great hot tool candidate.
Would chrome-vanadium fall under a special type of tool steel?
Thanks for the very informative video!
You are welcome!
Great job! I worked with various alloys during my career as a product developer and with all the ones you clearly explained here. Most of the steels I used needed wear resistance and impact resistance. As with any metal, the more exotic the alloy, the higher the cost and lower availability. I used the Machinery's Handbook as a guide for material selection for years. As with many resource materials today, it is available in digital form as well as print.
Jason, great and enriching video. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us. The world needs more people like you!!
Thanks for the kind words! Glad to hear it was useful to you.
Very interesting. It would have been a bonus to understand how the spark stream can roughly tell you the type of steel. That is real wizardry
That would be an interesting video!
Good introduction to a few basic steel types
We use a few different more specialized types in our product (engineered steel chains)
Yes, just to be simple you guys use an 'S' or a 'T'. Or perhaps a number like 60 or 80. And they're interchangeable..
I saw this video, and thought,"Oh, a toolmaker. Tool and die, progressive dies, plastic injection molds?" No, literally someone who makes hand-tools, which is cool. I've been in the precision tooling trade for 40 years, and S-7 is my favorite tool steel. Take it up to 58Rc, double draw, cryo treat and it'll last forever. 😃Terrible rust resistance, though.😐
Lovely very informative delivery. I agree No Musak, or other unnecessary noise distractions. Well done good tradesman like presentation.
Glad you enjoyed it! It's gratifying to see that you don't have to do what "they" say you have to in order to produce a popular video.
4140 & 4150 steels are used in gun barrels. Good stuff.
... Bad stuff.
@@Hertog_von_Berkshire, let me guess, you're a stainless barrel aficionado. They're cute, but, Melonited 4150 barrels will make stainless go bye-bye.
His use of the term ‘tenths ‘ for the determination of the carbon level is colloquially appropriate and correct.
Except the high carbon Cr bearing steels all steels are under 1%of carbon content so by saying a steel is a tenth of A ( ie 1) percent he is saying it’s a 1/10 of 1 percent - which is how it’s understood. absolutely no one ever describes the carbon content in terms of hundreds of percent except maybe some chemistry professors. In some places it’s just referred to as ‘points’ such as 25 point steel. Ie 1025
Another way to describe it would be to say 1025 steel is .25 wt% carbon
Sure, but if we're talking about, say, 1018 steel it doesn't have 18 tenths of a percent carbon. So for people without that specialised knowledge (which is still unclear to me from your explanation) it's ambiguous and confusing.
@@dielaughing73 think it’s just a quirk of English language how sometimes we say things that are imprecise especially when it comes to fractions of a percent, but the meaning is understood. A lot of steels are just the tenths ~ .2.3.4.5 . obviously in the machining world tenths hundreds thou 10 thou is critical but the chemistry callout terminology, for steel is more relaxed because people are not mixing up a batch of steel on the spot , but just eluding to standard stock such as 1018. I’ve never heard of anyone reference the carbon in hundredths but everyone is free to Ask their supplier to provide them with 2 tenths carbon steel and 8 hundredths carbon steel.
@@andrewc9902 hey, at least we're talking about decimals and not sixteenths or thirty-seconds
Wow next time I buy knives I’ll be so much more informed. Thank you😊
Very informative. Rule number 1 which I never seem to follow! write the grade on the steel
"write the grade on the steel..." Assumes your workmates can read... I marked a piece of material "tool steel, do not use" quite clearly, but one of the fitters ignored, or failed to read the marking, cut the material up to use as spacers... Then complained he found it hard to work... He'd selected it because it was a short piece of material, easy to carry to the saw... that it was expensive didn't matter to him...
@@boblawson1006reading is a conscious act for some people :(
Then promptly chuck the other end and turn off the lable! 😉👍
First rate! Thank you very much. Simple and easy to follow. I know it gets more complex, but this is a great start.
that was awesome! thanks!
Thank you for such a well presented description.
This is so refreshing in a vast sea of Hype, BS and Content theives that simply repost with a usually very inacurate Ai voice over.
I will be forwarding your link. And Yes, I have subscribed. I very seldom do.
You're very welcome!
Great stuff but I would have liked to see something about music steel AKA spring steel.
I guess a complete video would go on for days.😃
Thanks for this video...its a great introduction.
Thank you Ron Swanson of the steel world. I enjoyed this
Let's here it for 01, D2 ,D6 ,A2 and W2!
And then there's my FAVORITE: 12L14. 0.15-0.35% Pb makes it a joy to machine, especially for novices such as myself. Thanks for the excellent vid.
Excellent video - well done and well explained. Great presentation style.
Glad you liked it!
This was really straightforward and helpful, thanks so much for taking the time to make this video.
Small correction, the carbon is given in hundredths of a percent. For example, 50 hundredths of a percent is 0.5%
Great! Thanks for the info.
Very interesting. I'd be interested to know about other alloys especially for marine use. Many thanks. From Ireland.
interesting. Another quick method of alloy identification is to use a X-Ray Fluorescent Analyzer (XRF). A handheld unit can be purchased for ~$12k and will give you the grade in just a few seconds. Also handy for figuring out what the alloy is after any identifying marks have been removed.
@@lancedoyle5026 XRF can not detect carbon level, thus can not be used for plain carbon steels grading.
Thanks for taking the time to put this together. Very informative.
Well done. Sincere and clear
I've always wondered if you could use one of those Xray spectrometers that gold dealers use to verify precious metals on steel? Machines like the XRF spectrometer or the Sigma Metalytics verifier can not only tell you the percentage of gold, but the percentage of what other metals may have been alloyed with it. Most often copper, silver, palladium, or zinc. And in the knife world you hear all sorts of numbering systems. Plus the word magnacut steel gets touted as top of the line.
XRF will pick up the other elements of interest in steel such as nickel cr mo si mn and tramp elements such as S and P and others (with varying degrees of accuracy at low percentage levels) but EF cannot pick up the most important element carbon. Some of the tools will try to basically guess what grade of steel it is given the ranges of other elements but for example, if you had a 4145 steel the tool might guess it as 4150 or 4140, but it doesn’t actually determine the Carbon you need a different tool for that.
I loved milling P20, beautiful characteristics.
Excellent job. You could be the only person that has explained this this well. Is sheet the same numbering and what is better to machine/turn?
US standards of generally available steels . There are many other special steels available around the world .
You are right! Perhaps I should do a series of videos on steel names and numbers?
Question: Just noticed ceramic ball bearings are now being used in bicycle racing carbon wheels. What future does ceramics have in the Machining Industry?
Good question.
Look for the channel called "Hambini" and look for his videos on bearings, specifically ceramic ball bearings and their applications in cycling. You'll find that they perhaps aren't all you may think. The hardness of the bearings can cause more issues with galling in the races, for instance.
Dude, thank you for this!!!!
that pretty well covers my needs. Thanks.
Glad to help
Thank you for sharing. Opens a lot.
Glad it's helpful for you.
Excellent! Always wondered. Thank you. Now, please, do stainless.
Great suggestion. I am considering a basic metallurgy series. What else would you like to see on those lines?
This was a very informative and interesting video, thank you.
Great information, great presentation the only thing I disagree with is 4140 being relatively inexpensive. The price of any type of steel is out of control.
Very informative. Thank you.
Thanks for valuable information
I've been involved with BMX since the late 80's and 4130 has always been the absolute standard for frame selection, nothing else has ever done including Titanium (high tensile strength but low sheer strength) or aluminum (requiring a thicker wall diameter to accommodate strength). the closest to match 4130 chomoly has been 7076 T6 Aluminum, the same thing commercial airplane frames are made of
My mountain bike is machined out of T6. Pole Vikkela. Made by a Finnish company that just went out of business. I also hail from the 80s bmx days, and the chro-moly frames. I had a Hutch Trickfox. Got stolen from me, and I regret it to this day.
@@jamisonr I used to have a GT Dyno with white Skyway mags, still miss that thing. the BMX frame I have now is 4130 and only 4lbs made by a British company called Total
@@MCPEMadEnder916 almost positive my mags were skyway. They were purple. My brother had a GT, can't remember the model. The other big brand i remember from back then was Haro. I pretty much only do downhill MTB. Haven't been on a 20 inch bike in 30 years i guess.
@@jamisonr I don't get along with larger wheel size bikes, been riding BMX for 30 years. can't do a lot of what I used to in my younger days but I still have fun
Very clear and useful .
Glad it was helpful!
Could you do a video on stainless numbering? 300 series like 304, 316. And the hardening ones like 15-5 and 18-8.
Really useful, thanks ! I am however thinking of Bob Dylan's 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' for some reason.
Missed 3 common steels in my shop... A-36, 1144, and 12L14
12L14 ,12L15 the screw machinists' best friends
A36 steel usually references the specification ASTM A 36 it was purchased to , not the particular grade of steel however, it’s usually around 1020 1025 steel. That specification is driven by minimum mechanical properties not so much chemical limits, so the manufacturers have some flexibility as long as they meet mechanicals . It’s about the most entry-level steel one would purchase unless they wanted something softer like 1010 steel.
I recall the old days of referring to mild steel as either St37, Fe37 or En1A.
Great video!
Great video!
Good to know we a steel worker
Thank you sir for explaining this system!
Most welcome!
Thank you for the great video. Safe to say there are no naming standards.
Great Job!😊😊
Helpful information
Nice info! 👍💯
I think you'll find the main 'element' in carbon steel is 'Fe' Iron - the carbon content rarely goes above 1% and only up to 2% for knives and specialist cutting tooling.
Great explanation. Thanks!
Excellent! Thanks!
Great info! Glad I stumbled upon this video , subscribed so I can learn more.
Welcome aboard!
@@jasonlonontoolmaker Thanks!
Thanks for this!
Nice Liam Hoffman Leather Apron in the background!!
You know it! I have a pre production prototype which has served me well for several years.
Thanks for making the video, i liked it!
*6:15** XRF tester? I was thinking of getting one if they are reliable for testing alloys.*
Thank you!
Nice presentation
Hundredths of a per cent, not tenths.
Yes, thanks for the correction!
.18 is “eighteen hundredths”, .5 is “five tenths”, .02 is “two hundredths”, to be most Clear on this. Good video, OP. Does anyone know if an x-ray gun analyzer would show the Grade, in the field? Thanks :)
I bet you suck at parties.
@@sofiad5524 xrays are good for spotting density inconsistencies that’s why medical use is common but are ionizing radiation, and exposure to high intensities can be hazardous to health, causing damage to DNA, cancer, and at high dosages, burns and radiation sickness. Blasting a X-ray gun around a job sight would not only tell you nothing about the composition of steel but subject everyone to harm, (backscatter). But what do I know I’m just a simple engineer…. 😊
@@sofiad5524you mean a LIBS unit? Yes, I believe so. Very expensive tho
Thank you.
What steel would be used for a piston pin? I liked your presentation but adding some more real world examples would be a plus. I run into some old farm engines 1920~40's but I would expect the steel selected then would not change too much over time, or at least stay in the same group. . Note: working with old stuff I also run into cast iron.
Interesting and consise presentation, thanks a lot. I'd like to go deeper into this. Are there any (official) tables / standards available that provide detailed information on chemical composition of the grades, based on these 4 digits? I mean that just a glance and some memory should be enough to see that this grade will be fine, and the other one won't work. Getting through the masses of datasheets with % range of each element is not what I need or like. Any hint, please? Or how to ask google to get the links quickly? Thanks in advance.
You may find that the acoustics of your room may be improved by making sound-eating panels of Safe-n-Sound Rockwool ( like a framed wall, but with cloth over its sides, if you want ),
& not only covering whatever window/wall the traffic-noise is coming in through,
but also sticking a batt in each corner, to reduce the bass-reverb..
Or, if you want to spend money, Auralex makes eggcrate foam ( paintable ) which can be used in the same places..
I like quiet, & would cover my ceilings with it, if I could.
_ /\ _
I used to work in a punch and de shop, and we didn't have any of this numbered steel back then (30 years ago) we used a Letters and number system...
Like tool steel was, O1, A2, L6, S5 etc, and High Speed Steel was M1, M2, M42, etc
Is that system still used or is it different for those TYPES of steel we used??
Subscribed, great useful video as I'm a welder
Great help, buddy. Cheers
Thank you.
Good info, but the last two digits are carbon composition in _hundredths_ of a percent, not tenths. 40 hundredths of a percent is 0.40%. 40 tenths of a percent would be 4.0%
Nice information, with digital and nano printing tech I foresee a steel that has a fully throughout diamond molecule frozen in the steel iron matrix that makes the steel harder than diamond alone and much stronger than any made today. with the carbon and Iron molecules compressed and interwoven in the same space they would be without the other element. As a transition to the 2 molecules interwoven (one of diamond and one of steel) I'm suggesting, I foresee a laminated product with layers of diamond and steal with each layer only a couple atoms thick much like bullet proof glass is made. The end product with the interwoven molecules each layer of carbon would be a single atom thick and bonded to the carbon layer opposite an iron layer that likewise is bonded with a layer of iron on the other side of the carbon layer. Literally a bar of iron in the same space as a crystal of diamond trapped by the atomic bonds of the other element without being directly bonded. Would not be workable as blacksmiths do without loosing the properties as it would be 50% carbon bonded in a way not possible to maintain in a melted form. The idea was inspired by nano carbon tubes and spheres that can be used to hold other elements trapped that could on day make novel materials like solid neon lights that can't loose gas because it is trapped by a solid at the molecule level.
Awesome explanation. Thanks!! What's 12L14? Where does high machine ability steel and weldable steel com into the mix...?
12L14 is a low carbon, free-machining steel. The addition of lead aids in it's machinability. Machinable and weldable are terms to describe different properties of steel, and are used to describe different grades of steel, but are not part of a specification.
S2 tool steel is the only tool steel i have ever heard of
Thanks you!
VERY VERY GOOD CONTENT!
KEEP EDUCATING US DUMBS IN THE MATTER!
❤❤❤
Thanks! I have a basic metallurgy series in the works. Stay tuned.
@@jasonlonontoolmaker I just approached the metal/welding industry so I need some basics and real standards.
Like WTF means:
ENI10025-2 S275JR+AR 20X04
so I found you just to get some free gold for a NOOB as me ;).
Keep educating the people!
;)
This is cool for some basic pointers but doesn't really describe the system itself, which is what I was hoping to get. Then again I'm also a nerd with a thirst for knowledge, which is uncommon in our world
I'm already planning part two. Thanks for the feedback.
Informative, thankyou.