Carbon Steel Versus Grey
"What do you want your next stamp to be like?" asked a friend of mine recently. His response was, "I'd like it to be like all the other carbon steel stamping crafts - to have a nice even color to them that is very distinguishable." This friend then asked me a series of questions to try to define what he meant by distinguishable. Here are some of the responses that I gave:
"Stamp the envelopes on the envelopes, not the envelopes themselves." - Carbon steel stamping prices are consistent from year to year regardless of the manufacturing process or materials used. The production process does not distinguish between the production of plain brown carbon steel and the production of high-carbon steel with higher levels of carbon. Therefore, carbon steel prices will always be uniform. If there is any variation in these prices it will be in relation to the level of carbon used in production.
"What grade of carbon steel is most appropriate for my mounting." - Again, the production of carbon steel does not distinguish between plain carbon steel and high carbon steel. Because of this, when mounting heavier items it is most often the case that plain carbon steel is the preferred option as it is cheaper than the more expensive high carbon steel. However, in many cases there is little difference in the quality of the finished product, hence the need to determine what grade of carbon steel is most appropriate.
"How do you differentiate carbon steel from grey?" - Simple, carbon steel prices are consistent year to year regardless of the manufacturing process or materials used. Therefore, it is impossible to tell what grade of carbon steel is best suitable for a given project from year to year. This leads to the ongoing debate as to what is the best possible grade of carbon steel that is going to give the best value for money to the customer, whether that customer is looking for a cost effective solution to their storage facility, building or other such installation.
"Are there any differences between carbon steels and gray?" - Yes and no. Gray (carbon black) is much lighter and more ductile than carbon steels and as a result it is much less brittle. However, carbon steels are much harder and as a result are more durable and so are often used where the more brittle carbon steels would be counter productive. Carbon black is also much more difficult to shape and it would be impossible to produce carbon steel products where the grain of carbon was too fine or the luster too high without altering the composition of the carbon.
"Is the quality of carbon steel similar to stainless steel?" - It is close to being identical. The main difference comes from the fact that stainless steel can contain higher levels of carbon and due to this, it is not suitable for use with carbon steels (aside from the rare occasions where carbon black is used). If you have any questions about exactly where and how to use www.Castermetal.com, you can get in touch with us at our own website. Other factors include the efficiency of the carbon steel production process and the speed in which the carbon goes through the heat treating cycle.