Top Reasons Why Stainless Steel Wire Is the Best Option for Wide Range of Applications
What is Stainless Steel?
It’s important to know what stainless steel is, and what makes it different from plain steel. At its most basic, stainless steel is an alloy of iron and several other elements (such as nickel, chromium, molybdenum, and carbon) that is more resistant to corrosion than plain iron or steel (which is simply iron and carbon).
These stainless steel elements, such as nickel, chromium, and other additives, give it a passive oxide layer that resists the formation of rust and creates a shiny, reflective surface. The shiny surface of stainless steel is very difficult to tarnish compared to plain steel, hence why it is called “stainless” steel.
How is Stainless Steel Made?
First, when making stainless steel, the manufacturer has to determine exactly which type of stainless steel they want to make. This is important because the grade of stainless steel they want to make will affect the ratio of stainless steel materials that will be present in the mixture, such as iron, carbon, nickel, etc. These ratios aren’t always exact — sometimes, they’re on a range because of the inevitable risk of variance in the purity of each element in the mix.
Let Us Know About Stainless Steel Wires
Stainless steel wire is the raw material used for items such as screws, metallic nets, and springs. It finds regular use in the hardware and kitchenware sectors but also finds purpose in building trades and the energy industry. In this post, we are going to discuss the different types of stainless steel wire, their different applications, and where you can get it from!
There are three different types of stainless steel wire:
- Spring wire
- Forming wire
- Cold heading wire
Spring wire is known for its tensile strength and elasticity, with ideal cast and helix characteristics. Somewhere you may find a use of spring wire in everyday life is in the mattress of your bed, where spring wires are used to make springs and hoops. Another common use of spring wire is to act as a connecting wire in the automobile industry.
Forming wire is known for use in a range of different sectors, such as the medical, automobile, and shipping industries. It is created via the method of forming, where you have options of bending, piercing, shearing, and chamfering the wire into your desired form.
Cold heading wire is a type of wire that is created without the use of heat throughout the forming process. This process involves a cold-forming machine that strikes the wire while it is being inserted into a die, and the force of these strikes causes the metal to pour into a restricted die cavity. Generally, this type of wire is used for bolts, screws, studs, and more.
What Is 904L Stainless Steel?
904L stainless steel is an austenitic alloy that shares several similarities to 316L stainless steel. Its chemical composition is made up of nickel (up to 28%), chromium (up to 23%), molybdenum (up to 5%), manganese (up to 2%), silicon (up to 1%), as well as traces of iron and carbon.
Again the “L” means that 904L is a low-carbon variant of standard 904 stainless steel, containing .02% carbon or less.
What Is 904L Stainless Steel Wire Used For?
Much like 316L, 904L includes molybdenum, allowing it to combat various forms of corrosion. More specifically, 904L stainless steel is exceptionally resistant to pitting, intergranular, and crevice corrosion.
These corrosive resistant qualities work together to make 904L wires the ideal wire alloy when your wire is subjected to various chlorides. For example, 904L stainless steel wires are often used to fabricate ballast water filters.
Why 904L Wire is Best For Various Applications
To best determine whether you should use 904L or 316L to weave your wire mesh, you must look at the needs of the application. What types of materials will your mesh be subjected to? What budgetary restrictions must you adhere to? What characteristics must your wire have? and most important is how find a good 904L Wires Suppliers ?
These are just some of the questions you must ask yourself when designing the ideal woven wire mesh solution. Having said this, which alloy offers better functionality?
Well, in most cases, the answer is 904L.
Both alloys include chromium which works to form a protective oxidation layer when oxygen hits the surface. But because 904L contains more chromium than 316L, this protective layer is more prominent when working with 904L wires.
904L outperforms 316L when comparing the alloys’ ability to combat corrosion. This is simply because 904L’s chemical composition contains more elements that aid an alloy’s ability to perform when subjected to various corrosive environments.
Now, when comparing 904L wire and 316L, it must be noted that both alloys are widely used and relatively easy to obtain. That said, 316L is known for being more budget-friendly than 904L.
So, while 904L wires provides better functionality, 316L can typically provide satisfactory performance in most cases where more standardized alloys are suitable. This typically restricts 904L to specialty applications.
Reference Link: https://www.marlinwire.com/blog/how-is-stainless-steel-made / https://blog.wstyler.com/woven-wire-filters/904l-vs-316l
