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| FAQ - Commonly asked questions |
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| What does "ga" stand for and what does it mean? |
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| "ga" stands for Gauge. There are many gauges of steel. The higher the gauge the thinner the steel. We stock 7 ga to 20 ga stainless steel. |
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| What is "2B" Finish? |
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A 2B Finish is given a subsequent light skin pass cold rolling operation between polished rolls. This is the most common finish produced and called for on sheet material. It is brighter than 2D and is semi-reflective. It is commonly used for most deep drawing operations, and is easily polished.
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| What is "#4" Polished? |
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This is a ground unidirectional finish obtained with 150 grit abrasive. It is not highly reflective, but is a good general purpose finish on components which will suffer from fairly rough handling in service (e.g. restaurant equipment).
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| What is "304" Stainless Steel and what is it used for? |
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304 is the basic alloy. Type 304 (18-8) is an austenitic steel possessing a minimum of 18% chromium and 8% nickel, combined with a maximum of 0.08% carbon. It is a nonmagnetic steel which cannot be hardened by heat treatment, but instead. must be cold worked to obtain higher tensile strengths.
The 18% minimum chromium content provides corrosion and oxidation resistance. The alloy's metallurgical characteristics are established primarily by the nickel content (8% mm.), which also extends resistance to corrosion caused by reducing chemicals. Carbon, a necessity of mixed benefit, is held at a level (0.08% max.) that is satisfactory for most service applications.
The stainless alloy resists most oxidizing acids and can withstand all ordinary rusting. HOWEVER, IT WILL TARNISH. It is immune to foodstuffs, sterilizing solutions, most of the organic chemicals and dyestuffs, and a wide variety of inorganic chemicals. Type 304, or one of its modifications, is the material specified more than 50% of the time whenever a stainless steel is used.
Because of its ability to withstand the corrosive action of various acids found in fruits, meats, milk, and vegetables, Type 304 is used for sinks, tabletops, coffee urns, stoves, refrigerators, milk and cream dispensers, and steam tables. It is also used in numerous other utensils such as cooking appliances, pots, pans, and flatware.
Type 304 is especially suited for all types of dairy equipment - milking machines, containers, homogenizers, sterilizers, and storage and hauling tanks, including piping, valves, milk trucks and railroad cars. This 18-8 alloy is equally serviceable in the brewing industry where it is used in pipelines, yeast pans, fermentation vats, storage and railway cars, etc. The citrus and fruit juice industry also uses Type 304 for all their handling, crushing, preparation, storage and hauling equipment.
In those food processing applications such as in mills, bakeries, and slaughter and packing houses, all metal equipment exposed to animal and vegetable oils, fats, and acids is manufactured from Type 304.
Type 304 is also used for the dye tanks, pipelines buckets, dippers, etc. that come in contact with the lormic, acetic, and other organic acids used in the dyeing industry.
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| What is "303" Stainless Steel and what is it used for? |
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Grade 303 Stainless Steel is the most readily machineable of all the austenitic grades of stainless steel.
The machineable nature of 303 Stainless is due to the presence of Sulphur in the steels composition. Whilst the Sulphur improves machining, it also causes a decrease in the corrosion resistance and a slight lowering of the toughness. The corrosion resistance of 303 stainless is lower than that for 304. The toughness is still excellent as with other austenitic grades.
Property data given in this document is typical for bar products covered by ASTM A582.
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