What are the Hard and Soft Conditions of Stainless Steel?

Soft stainless steel refers to fully annealed stainless steel. The hardness and tensile strength are low. The difference between the hard and soft states of stainless steel.

1. Metal hardness: The hard state of stainless steel has high hardness; the soft state of stainless steel has low hardness.

2.Tensile strength: The hard state of stainless steel has high tensile strength; the soft state of stainless steel has low tensile strength.

Stainless steel materials are generally divided into three states (hard, semi-hard, and soft). The hardness of the material varies depending on the purpose. The most common is the hard state (normal state). If you want to process such as stretching, you need soft stainless steel. Generally, you can clearly inform the seller when placing an order. If there is no hardness or softness requirement, it is directly ordinary hard material. If you want to make shrapnel, you need hard or semi-hard.

Generally, the distinction between hard and soft is mainly based on the requirements for (annealing) the material. The hardness or softness of metal materials is distinguished by hardness testing. The material you want to distinguish is hardened. The one with high hardness is hard.

Hardness test method of stainless steel:

The hardness test of stainless steel plate or stainless steel strip with thickness greater than 1.2mm adopts Rockwell hardness tester to test HRB and HRC hardness. Stainless steel plate or stainless steel strip with thickness between 0.2 and 1.2mm adopts surface Rockwell hardness tester to test HRT or HRN hardness. Stainless steel plate or stainless steel strip with thickness less than 0.2mm adopts surface Rockwell hardness tester with diamond point anvil to test HR30Tm hardness.

For annealed stainless steel plate and stainless steel strip with thickness between 0.3 and 13mm, W-B75 Webster hardness tester can also be used. This instrument test is very fast and simple, and is very suitable for rapid qualified inspection of annealed stainless steel materials.

2. Stainless steel pipe. Stainless steel pipe includes welded stainless steel pipe and cold-drawn stainless steel pipe

Stainless steel pipe with inner diameter greater than ¢ 30mm and wall thickness greater than 1.2mm adopts Rockwell hardness tester to test HRB and HRC hardness. For stainless steel pipes with an inner diameter greater than ¢30mm and a wall thickness less than 1.2mm, a surface Rockwell hardness tester is used to test the HRT or HRN hardness. For stainless steel pipes with an inner diameter less than ¢30mm and greater than ¢4.8mm, a special Rockwell hardness tester for pipes is used to test the HR15T hardness.

When the inner diameter of the pipe is greater than ¢26mm, the hardness of the inner wall of the pipe can also be tested with a Rockwell or surface Rockwell hardness tester. For annealed stainless steel pipes with an inner diameter of more than ¢6.0mm and a wall thickness of less than 13mm, a W-B75 Webster hardness tester can be used. It is very fast and simple to test and is suitable for fast and non-destructive qualified inspection of stainless steel pipes.

3. Stainless steel rods. For stainless steel rods with a diameter less than ¢50, a Rockwell hardness tester can be used to test the HRB or HRC hardness.

4. Stainless steel wires. For stainless steel wires with a diameter greater than 2.0mm, a surface Rockwell hardness tester can be used to test the HRT or HRN hardness.