You can find steel parts in all sorts of products around you. Steel is one of the most-used metals for everything large and small. It’s fairly easy to machine, inexpensive, and durable.
Spex uses CNC machines to manufacture high quantities of precision carbon steel parts and components. We are an industry-leading machine shop and help our customers fulfill their part needs.
Steel is a widely used material worldwide and it’s incredibly versatile. Compared to other metals, steel is used in more parts than anything else. The commonality of carbon steel, and the ability to use it in so many applications makes it one of the best options.
Carbon steel bar stock is available in round, square, and hexagonal shapes, and it can be significantly less expensive. Steel doesn’t have great corrosion resistance, but an additional layer of protection can be added by plating or heat treating steel parts.
Given the low costs and design versatility, steel is often used for high-volume parts, where millions of identical parts are needed.
Carbon steel is used in many CNC machining projects. CNC machining offers tight tolerances for complex carbon steel parts, and big jobs can be completed quickly.
Spex machines thousands of custom carbon steel parts, including:
Carbon steels are used in a wide variety of industries, including: Hydraulics, Measurement, Instrumentation, Appliance, Petroleum, Gas, Electric, and Automotive.
Like most metals, there are various grades or alloys of carbon steel that each have slightly different properties.
Common grades of carbon steel include: 12L14, 11L37, 11L41, and 1008.
11L37 Steel is a general purpose alloy. This provides good strength, stress resistance, and is easy to machine due to the added lead.
11L41 Steel is a free machining alloy that provides good strength and hardness. The hardness is deeper and more uniform throughout the metal.
12L14 Steel is the most used alloy for precision machined parts. It’s considered a free machining alloy and complex designs and tight tolerances can be machined quickly.
1018 Steel is a standard use alloy. 1018 isn’t always ideal for precision machining, but parts can be easily welded and cold formed.
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