Stainless - 301/302/304 Full Hard

Type 301 is an austenitic stainless steel with a composition of 17% chromium and 7% nickel. Its resistance to atmosphere corrosion and its bright surface finish make it an excellent choice for decorative structural applications. Kitchen equipment, automotive components, wheel covers, conveyor belts, hose clamps, springs, truck and trailer bodies, railway and subway cars are some of the major applications for the versatile grade. Type 301 is resistant to a variety of corrosive media. However, the corrosion properties are not as good as 18-8 chromium-nickel steels. Its susceptibility to carbide precipitation during welding restricts its use in some applications.

Type 302/304 stainless steels are variations of 18% chromium and 8% nickel austenitic alloy. They are the most familiar and used alloy in the stainless steel family and represent nearly half of the total U.S. stainless steel production. These alloys are used in a wide variety of applications including food and beverage equipment, sanitary, cryogenic, and medical. They represent an excellent combination of corrosion resistance and ease of fabrication because of some of the important properties, i.e. high strength with low weight, resistance to oxidation, ease of cleaning, beauty of appearance, prevention of product contamination, good strength and toughness at cryogenic temperatures.

Austenitic stainless steels cannot be hardened by heat treatment.