FERRITIC STAINLESS STEEL

These are plain chromium stainless steels. They have varying chromium content of 12-18%, but a lower carbon content than the Martensitics. The common specifications are 430 & 409

Basic Properties:

• Moderate to good corrosion resistance, which increases with the chromium content
• Magnetic, non hardenable and always used in annealed condition
• Weldability is poor which generally limits their applications as weld components to thin gauge material.

Common Usage:
The most common uses of this type of steel include builders' hardware, sinks, domestic equipment and architectural trims. Thick gauge applications include liners, decking plates, spillways, chain conveyors and dust & fumes extractors.

Due to their predominant use as thin gauge material this type of stainless steel is available in the form of sheet & coil. They are less commonly available in the form of plates & welded tube.