Stainless Steel Galling: Why Fasteners Seize and How to Stop It
The Stainless Steel Galling Problem Stainless steel is specified for its corrosion resistance. But it has a dirty secret: stainless fasteners are extremely prone to…
Materials & Alloys
Aluminum Alloys for Manufacturing: 6061 vs 7075 vs 5052 and More
Why Aluminum? Aluminum is one-third the weight of steel with excellent corrosion resistance, good machinability, and a huge range of alloys for different applications. It’s…
Carbon Steel, Alloy Steel, and Tool Steel: A Practical Guide
Steel Basics Steel is iron + carbon + other stuff. The “other stuff” determines whether it’s cheap structural steel, tough alloy steel, or hardened tool…
Stainless Steel Grades: 304 vs 316 vs 303 vs 17-4 PH
What Makes Steel “Stainless”? Add at least 10.5% chromium to steel and it forms a passive oxide layer that resists corrosion. That’s stainless steel. The…
Heat Treatment of Steel: Hardening, Tempering, Annealing, and More
Why Heat Treat? Raw steel from the mill has whatever properties the manufacturing process gave it. Heat treatment changes the internal crystal structure to make…