4 Things To Consider Before Selecting Stainless Steel Grade For Fabrication

Posted by Ceramic Technology, Inc. on September 5th, 2019

In an industrial setting, ensuring optimal plant performance is important. This can only happen when the machines and their components are in the right condition. Although you can fabricate the pipes to manage the high- pressure flow in a plant, you need to have information about the material that is used in the custom stainless steel fabrication. Before the fabrication process, the grade of stainless steel is selected which should be in line with the industry-specific standards.

Here is a list of some of the things which are considered before selecting the grade of stainless steel in industries.

1. Welding of Steel

When the grade of steel is to be selected, the first thing that is looked at is the welding of steel. The degree of carbon present in the stainless steel determines its need to be welded. If accurate grades of stainless steel are not selected for the welding process, it can result in different problems. Some of the examples of the problems that can happen in welding include stress corrosion cracking, hot cracking, and intergranular corrosion.

2. Degree of Corrosion Resistance

Another thing that is considered when selecting the grade of stainless steel is the degree of corrosion resistance. There are different types of stainless steels which have different amounts of corrosion resistance. For instance, Austenitic stainless steel has a high amount of chromium which increases the corrosion resistance when used for pipe fabrication. This means that the Austenitic stainless steel is ideal for use in corrosive environments.

3. Strength requirements

Depending on the environment of the industry where the materials are to be used, the strength requirements vary. If an industry requires the use of heavy materials, then the grade of stainless steel is selected accordingly. Manufacturers which provide custom stainless steel fabrication select the grade of the steel which has a higher amount of Nickel. If there are other details and specifications needed in the process, they look at different things.

4. Applications

One of the most important parts of the selection of steel grade is the application for it is chosen. Some of the examples of the applications include fasteners, fittings, gear, wear-resistant applications, chemical applications and more. Most of the grades are chosen on the basis of the types of stainless steel used. After the manufacturer selects the type of grade needed, then the process of fabricating the pipes and the plants start with them. You can consult a professional to know about the ways in which the process is done.

If you wish to get custom stainless steel fabrication for pipes and other components in your industry, you should visit the websites of various stainless steel fabricators. Gather more information on the web about the grades of stainless steel and their manufacturing processes.