CUSTOMProducts
Materials
We understand that everything doesn't have to be made from carbon steel. Erie Custom Products stocks a vast array of common and rare metals. Below is a listing of some of the more popular alloys we handle. If you don't see the material you require, just let us know, chances are we can find it for you!
Carbon Steel
Carbon steel is a type of steel that has carbon as its main alloying constituent. 85% of all steel used in the United States is carbon steel. The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) defines carbon steel as: "Steel is considered to be carbon steel when no minimum content is specified or reqired for chromium, cobalt, columbium, molybdenum, nickel, titanium, tungsten, vanadium or zirconium, or any other element to be added to obtain a desired effect."
There are five main types of carbon steel:
Low Carbon Steel
0.05% - 0.15% Carbon content. The most common type of steel used in many applications due to its lower cost.
Mild Carbon Steel
0.16% - 0.29% Carbon content. Lower cost and malleable but has a low tensile strength.
Medium Carbon Steel
0.30% - 0.59% Carbon content. Balanced between ductility and strength.
High Carbon Steel
0.60% - 0.99% Carbon content. Very strong.
Ultra High Carbon Steel
1.0% - 2.0% Carbon content. Tempered to great hardness and used for items such as knives and punches. Any steel above 2.0% is considered cast iron.Stainless Steel
A steel alloy with 10.5% to 11% chromium by mass. Stainless steel is not stain-proof, it just won't corrode, rust or stain as easily as standard steel will. Stainless steel is protected by a passive film of chromium oxide due to the amount of chromium present in the steel. This prevents the corrosion from spreading.Aluminum
A silvery white metal of the boron group of chemical elements with the symbol Al and an atomic number of 13. Aluminum is a soft, non-magnetic, lightweight, ductile and malleable metal. Pure Aluminum is to soft for most uses so alloys are used to increase the strength to weight ratio. Aluminum alloys form a protective layer of aluminum oxide in dry environments that help them retain there sine and luster.
Aluminum can be cast or wrought alloys. 85% of aluminum is used for wrought products such as extrusions and foils. There are different designations for cast and wrought alloys. For wrought alloys there are eight different series that are designated by a four digit number representing the element that the aluminum is alloyed with. Additionally, the alloy is assigned a temper designation, represented by a dash, a letter and a one to three digit number, e.g. 6060-T6.
1000 Series - Basically pure aluminum
2000 Series - Alloyed with copper
3000 Series - Alloyed with manganese
4000 Series - Alloyed with silicon
5000 Series - Alloyed with magnesium
6000 Series - Alloyed with magnesium and silicon
7000 Series - Alloyed with zinc
8000 Series - Alloyed with lithium
-F As fabricated
-H1 Strain Hardened without thermal treatment
-H2 Strain Hardened and partially annealed
-H3 Strain Hardened and stabilized by low temp heating
-O Full Soft
-T1 Cooled from hot working and naturally aged at room temp
-T2 Cooled from hot working, cold worked and naturally aged
-T3 Solution heat treated and cold worked
-T4 Solution heat treated and naturally aged
-T5 Cooled from hot working and artificially aged at elevated temp
-T51 Stress relieved by stretching
-T510 No further straightening after stretching
-T511 Minor straightening after stretching
-T52 Stress relieved by thermal treatment
-T6 Solution heat treated and artificially aged
-T7 Solution heat treated and stabilized
-T8 Solution heat treated, cold worked and artificially aged
-T9 Solution heat treated, artificially aged and cold worked
-T10 Cooled from hot working, cold worked and artificially aged
-W solution heat treated only