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Stainless Steel Fabrication FAQ

October 04, 2019

Stainless steel fabrication offers a number of practical benefits when it comes to manufacturing metal structures and products. To better understand what stainless steel fabricating encompasses, our goal today is to answer a few frequently asked questions when it comes to stainless steel fabricating and its various processes.

 

What are the benefits of fabricating with stainless steel?

 

Working with stainless steel offers a large range of benefits due to their associated physical properties. Stainless steel offers relatively high strength, yet is still easy to work with. Corrosion resistance, increased malleability and work hardening rates, also make stainless steel an optimal material choice when it comes to the fabrication of components and structures. Stainless steel (in most cases) is also highly recyclable – where over 50% of stainless steel is sourced from recycled melted-down stainless steel scraps.

 

 

What types of stainless steel can be used in the fabrication process?

 

Stainless steel is considered a “base alloy” – meaning it is composed of about 10.5% chromium. The chromium oxide film that lies on the surface of the steel offers enhanced corrosion resistance while also serving to prevent the occurrence of further oxidation. Stainless steels are categorized by the type of alloying additions that are present on the its surface.

 

There are five general categories most stainless steels fall under ranging from fully austenitic to fully ferritic:

 

  • Austenitic stainless steels
  • Ferritic stainless steels
  • Martensitic stainless steels
  • Duplex stainless steels
  • Precipitation hardening stainless steels

 

 

What processes are involved when it comes to stainless steel fabrication?

 

Stainless steel fabricating allows for increased versatility when it comes to achieving project specifications and goals. A large range of processes encompass the totality of stainless steel fabrication. Fabricating with stainless steel encompasses a large range of processes – the majority of which fall under two main categories: joining and fabrication.

 

  • Joining Processes –  welding, fastening, brazing/soldering, mechanical press fitting and folding, adhesive bonding
  • Fabrication Processes – melting and rolling, shearing and bending, water jet cutting, deep drawing, wire bending, spring forming, roll forming, machining and milling