Understanding stainless steel
To be considered a stainless steel, an alloy must have at least 10.5% chromium and no more than 1.2% carbon. Generally speaking, higher chromium content means greater corrosion resistance. Austenitic stainless steels are characterized by their microstructure and are not susceptible to hardening during heat treatment, which offers greater versatility for processing and end applications.
At Fort Wayne Metals, we routinely process a number of stainless steel . Click on each grade to learn more.
- 20CB-3® austenitic stainless steel with superior resistance to acids
- 2205 Duplex stainless steel high strength in the annealed condition, with good corrosion strength
- Super Duplex stainless steel high resistance to pitting corrosion
- 302 stainless steel identical to 304V in chemical composition except for higher carbon content, with higher tensile strength than 304V produced using an electric-arc melt process, resulting in a high quality austenitic stainless steel
- 304LV stainless steel reduced carbon content for better corrosion resistance in place of tensile strength
- 304V stainless steel vacuum arc remelted, 304V has more uniform chemistry with less tensile strength than 302
- 316LVM uniform chemistry and improved microcleanliness increases corrosion resistance over 302 or 304V
- Biodur® 108 an essentially nickel-free austenitic stainless steel with high corrosion resistance and strength
- Custom 455® alloy a soft, formable material that hardens with heat treatment for increased tensile strength
Product forms and capabilities
Stainless steel is an incredibly diverse alloy, made even more useful by the numerous forms it can take. Click on the product forms to learn about the ways you can use stainless steel.
- Bar precision ground bar in various sizes and alloys
- DFT® wire wire that combines two dissimilar materials in a single construction
- Flat wire wire with a rectangular cross section
- HHS® tube a strand with an open center working channel
- Mechanical assembly crimps, fittings, and custom part manufacture specialized parts
- Round wire traditional wire drawn to customer specifications in a variety of alloys
- Shaped wire a variety of specialty shaped cross-sectional wires
- SLT® wire straight-off-the-spool wire to eliminate processing steps
- Strands and cables complex wire constructions for advanced applications
- Strip continuous lengths up to 12.7mm [0.500 in] wide
Typical end uses
Once stainless steel is in your chosen product form, you can do just about anything with it. We've seen customers use our stainless steel products in:
- Bone pins
- Catheters
- Guidewires
- Needles
- Orthodontics
- Orthopaedic cables
- Skin closure staples
- Springs
- Stylets
Surface finishes and material conditions
While the exact finish and condition of your stainless steel depends on the alloy, product form, and other important factors, generally it will have a highly polished appearance, especially at small diameters. The condition, or temper, relates to the tensile strength of the material. Hyten condition usually provides the highest tensile strength, while annealed typically offers the lowest.
- Hyten
- Ultra spring
- Double spring
- Spring
- ¾ Hard
- ½ Hard
- ¼ Hard
- Annealed
Enhanced solutions
If you need stainless steel wire that performs beyond what is expected of typical alloys, explore our NDR® wire. Using certain grades of stainless steel, NDR® wire is produced using a thermal-mechanical treatment to refine the microstructure, which means you get better fatigue life without altering the physical properties of the material.