Mild and Carbon Steel (Strip)

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Mild and Carbon Steels

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Mild and Carbon Steel Grades

Cold Rolled Low Carbon (Mild)

1.0330 / DC01 / CS4

1.0338 / DC04 / CS2

1.0347 / DC03 / CS3

1.0312 / DCO5 / CS1

1.0873 / DC06

Cold Rolled High Carbon Spring Steel

1.1204 / C55S

1.1211 / C60S

1.1231 / C67S

1.1248 / C75S

1.1269 / C85S

1.1217 / C90S

1.1274 / C100S

1.1224 / C125S

1.5021 / 48Si7

1.8159 / 51CrV4

1.2235 / 80CrV2

1.5634 / 75Ni8

1.2002 / 125Cr2

1.2067 / 102Cr6

What are the benefits of using Mild and Carbon Steels?

Carbon Steel is an affordable, strong and durable material, offering shock resistant properties. It is also easily recycled and reused, making it a more environmentally friendly material choice

What are the disadvantages of using Mild and Carbon Steels?

While its strength is an advantage, this can also make Carbon Steels harder to work with compared to other steels. Carbon Steel, is also more susceptible to rust and corrosion, limiting its use for certain applications

Mild and Carbon Steel Overview

Carbon steel is so named because it contains higher amounts of carbon than other types of steel. This type of metal is generally softer than stainless steel yet stronger than aluminium. With its high carbon content, Carbon steel, is able to be hardened more easily than other types of steel. Although it is relatively thin, it can be punched or pressed thin, which makes it ideal for making thin metal parts. It has high tensile strength, meaning that the steel is less likely to bend or break when subjected to stress, and can withstand high amounts of pressure without being crushed. Its brilliance comes from the small portions of slag that are fused into the material during the manufacturing process, which helps to increase its resistance to corrosion. Plain Carbon Steel strip has a very wide range of applications because it is particularly adaptable to low cost techniques of metal forming such as presswork. These materials combine ease of fabrication with adequate strength and excellent finishing characteristics. As a result, they provide a good surface finish on the final article.

Our range of Carbon Steels can be broadly split into two categories:

LOW CARBON MILD STEELS
HIGH CARBON SPRING STEELS

Spring Steels are available in the annealed condition for hardening after forming, or in the hardened and tempered condition.

Low Carbon Mild Steels

Overview

The hardness or temper of cold rolled Mild Steel strip is determined by its analysis, the amount of cold rolling or by a final annealing process. Manufacturers select these steels to achieve the optimum mechanical properties for the forming operation, whether it be deep drawing, forming or flat blanking.

“Skin passed” is a very light rolling reduction after the annealing process to prevent the formation of deformation bands called stretcher strains, which can ruin surface appearance of the formed article.

Mild steels cannot be hardened except by cold working because their carbon content is too low for significant heat treatment reaction to take place. However, they can be case hardened to give a harder surface.

Low Carbon Steel Chemical Properties

COLD ROLLED LOW CARBON (MILD) STEEL CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
DESIGNATION		FORMER BRITISH STANDARD GRADE (Nearest Fit)	TYPICAL CHEMICAL COMPOSITION %
NAME	NUMBER	FORMER BRITISH STANDARD GRADE (Nearest Fit)	C	P	S	Mn	Ti
DC01	1.0330	CS4	0.12	0.045	0.045	0.6	-
DC03	1.0347	CS3	0.1	0.035	0.035	0.45	-
DC04	1.0338	CS2	0.08	0.03	0.03	0.4	-
DC05	1.0312	CS1	0.06	0.025	0.025	0.35	-
DC06	1.0873	-	0.02	0.02	0.025	0.25	0.3

Low Carbon Steel Mechanical Properties

COLD ROLLED LOW CARBON (MILD) STEEL MECHANICAL COMPOSITION
DESIGNATION		FORMER BRITISH STANDARD GRADE (nearest fit)	Period Guaranteed	Delivery Condition	Symbol	Re N/mm2	Rm N/mm2	Elongation % min A80	Hardness HV
NAME	NUMBER	FORMER BRITISH STANDARD GRADE (nearest fit)	Period Guaranteed	Delivery Condition	Symbol	Re N/mm2	Rm N/mm2	Elongation % min A80	Hardness HV
DC01	1.0330	CS4	3 months	Annealed	A	-	270-390	28	105 max
				Skin passed	LC	280 max	270-410	28	115 max
				Work hardened	C290	200-380	290-430	18	95-125
					C340	250 min	340-490	-	105-155
					C390	310 min	390-540	-	117-172
					C440	360 min	440-590	-	135-185
					C490	420 min	490-640	-	155-200
					C590	520 min	590-740	-	185-225
					C690	630 min	690 min	-	215 min
DC03	1.0347	CS3	6 months	Annealed	A	-	270-370	34	100 max
				Skin passed	LC	240 max	270-370	34	110 max
				Work hardened	C290	210-355	290-390	22	95-117
					C340	240 min	340-440	-	105-130
					C390	330 min	390-490	-	117-155
					C440	380 min	440-540	-	135-172
					C490	440 min	490-590	-	155-185
					C590	540 min	590 min	-	185 min
DC04	1.0338	CS2	6 months	Annealed	A	-	270-350	38	95 max
				Skin passed	LC	210 max	270-350	38	105 max
				Work hardened	C290	220-325	290-350	24	95-117
					C340	240 min	340-440	-	105-130
					C390	350 min	390-490	-	117-155
					C440	400 min	440-540	-	135-172
					C490	460 min	490-590	-	155-185
					C590	560 min	590 min	-	185-215
DC05	1.0312	CS1	6 months	Skin passed	LC	180 max	270-330	40	100 max
DC06	1.0873	-	6 months	Skin passed	LC	80 max	270-350	38	-

Low Carbon Steel Features and Applications

COLD ROLLED LOW CARBON (MILD) FEATURES
DESIGNATION		FORMER BRITISH STANDARD GRADE (Nearest Fit)	Temper	Key Features	Applications
NAME	NUMBER	FORMER BRITISH STANDARD GRADE (Nearest Fit)	Temper	Key Features	Applications
DCO1	1.033	CS4	Annealed & Skin Passed	Forming and Bending	Press Formed and Bent Components
DCO1	1.033	CS4	Temper Rolled C290/ C340/ C390/ C440	Forming and Bending	Press Formed and Bent Components
DCO1	1.033	CS4	Hard Rolled C490/ C590/ C690	Blanking	Flat Components, Shims, Washers
DCO3	1.0347	CS3	Annealed & Skin Passed	Drawing quality, non-ageing	Shallow Drawn and Stretch Formed
DCO4	1.0338	CS2	Annealed & Skin Passed	Deep drawing quality, non-ageing	Deep Drawn and Stretch Formed
DCO5	1.0312	CS1	Annealed & Skin Passed	Extra deep drawing quality, non-ageing	Springs, clips, pressings and fasteners
DCO6	1.0873	-	Skin passed	Extra deep drawing quality, non-ageing	Very Deep Drawn Components, Automotive & Electrical Parts

High Carbon Spring Steels

Overview

High Carbon Steel is available in several options.

(a) Annealed:

Bright rolled Carbon Steels are often used in the annealed condition for forming components. These can then be batch heat treated to increase their hardness and spring characteristics.

To maintain a good surface condition, heat treatment should be carried out in a controlled atmosphere furnace at the appropriate temperature for the grade (see table) and oil quenched to achieve maximum hardness.

Tempering must then be carried out to reduce the strength/hardness of the material but considerably improve its toughness and ductility. Temperatures in the range of 300 – 450°C should be used to achieve the required final hardness. Alternatively, austempering is frequently carried out by quenching into a molten salt bath @ 350 – 450°C.

Our Sales and Technical staff will give additional heat treatment advice for your particular application upon request.

(b) Hardened & Tempered:

Hardened and Tempered Spring Steel has been heat treated in strip form at the mill prior to being supplied to the customer. Many applications do not require severe bending,= and forming, and it is often beneficial to use hardened and tempered strip in these cases.

The main benefits are:

No risk of distortion.
Uniformity of surface finish.
Constant mechanical properties.
These factors often mean reduced processing costs and a higher quality product.
Stress Relieving.

After severe deformation hardened & tempered spring steel requires a low temperature (250 – 300°C) stress relieving operation to “set” the components into shape. This will impart a coloured oxide finish ranging from bronze to blue which slightly improves corrosion resistance.

High Carbon Steel Chemical Properties

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF COLD ROLLED HIGH CARBON SPRING STEEL
DESIGNATION		TYPICAL CHEMICAL COMPOSITION %
NAME	NUMBER	C	Si	Mn	P	S	Cr	Mo	V	Ni
C55S	1.1204	0.52-0.60	0.15-0.35	0.60-0.90	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
C60S	1.1211	0.57-0.65	0.15-0.35	0.60-0.90	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
C67S	1.1231	0.65-0.73	0.15-0.35	0.60-0.90	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
C75S	1.1248	0.70-0.80	0.15-0.35	0.60-0.90	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
C85S	1.1269	0.80-0.90	0.15-0.35	0.40-0.70	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
C90S	1.1217	0.85-0.95	0.15-0.35	0.40-0.70	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
C100S	1.1274	0.95-1.05	0.15-0.35	0.30-0.60	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
C125S	1.1224	1.20-1.30	0.15-0.35	0.30-0.60	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
48Si7	1.5021	0.45-0.52	1.60-2.00	0.50-0.80	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
56Si7	1.5026	0.52-0.60	1.60-2.00	0.60-0.90	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40 max	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
51CrV4	1.8159	0.47-0.55	0.40 max	0.70-1.10	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.90-1.20	0.1 max	0.10-0.25 max	0.40 max
80CrV2	1.2235	0.75-0.85	0.15-0.35	0.30-0.50	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40-0.60	0.1 max	0.15-0.25 max	0.40 max
75Ni8	1.5634	0.72-0.78	0.15-0.35	0.30-0.50	0.025 max	0.025 max	< 0.15	0.1 max	-	1.80-2.10
125Cr2	1.2002	1.20-1.30	0.15-0.35	0.25-0.40	0.025 max	0.025 max	0.40-0.60	0.1 max	-	0.40 max
102Cr6	1.2067	0.95-1.10	0.15-0.35	0.20-0.40	0.025 max	0.025 max	1.35-1.60	0.1 max	-	0.40 max

High Carbon Steel Mechanical Properties

Cold Rolled High Carbon Spring Steel Mechanical Properties
DESIGNATION		Hardness for Delivery Condition (reference values)
NAME	NUMBER	Annealed (+A) or annealed and skin passed (+LC) Rockwell ‘B' scale	Quenched and Tempered (+QT) Rockwell ‘C' scale
C55S	1.1204	90 max	34 - 50.5
C60S	1.1211	91 max	35 - 51.5
C67S	1.1231	92 max	38.5 - 54
C75S	1.1248	93 max	38.5 - 54
C85S	1.1269	94 max	38.5 - 55
C90S	1.1217	94 max	38.5 - 55
C100S	1.1274	95 max	38.5 - 57
C125S	1.1224	97 max	38.5 - 57
48Si7	1.5021	95 max	38.5 - 50.5
56Si7	1.5026	96 max	38.5 - 50.5
51CrV4	1.8159	94 max	38.5 - 52.5
80CrV2	1.2235	95 max	38.5 - 52.5
75Ni8	1.5634	93 max	38.5 - 52.5
125Cr2	1.2002	97 max	42 - 57
102Cr6	1.2067	97 max	42 - 57

High Carbon Steel Features and Applications

COLD ROLLED HIGH CARBON SPRING STEEL FEATURES
DESIGNATION		Temper	Key Features	Applications
NAME	NUMBER	Temper	Key Features	Applications
C55S	1.1204	Annealed & Skin Passed	Press forming and blanking, hardenable	Springs and High Strength Parts. E.g. Circlips & Automotive Clutch Plates, Wear Resistant Parts, Knives, Saw Blades
C60S	1.1211
C67S	1.1231
C75S	1.1248
C85S	1.1269
C90S	1.1217
C100S	1.1274
C125S	1.1224	Hardened & Tempered	Flat or very simply formed shapes High fatigue and wear resistance	Flat Springs, Circlips, Automotive Clutch Plates, High Performance Springs, Machine Knife Blades, Doctor Blades
48Si7	1.5021
56Si7	1.5026
51CrV4	1.8159
80CrV2	1.2235
75Ni8	1.5634
125Cr2	1.2002
102Cr6	1.2067

Stripe Processing

Recoiling

Slitting & Shearing

Traverse Winding

Cut to Length

Edge Dressing

Warehouse & Logistics

Wire Processing

Cut to Length

Polishing & Cleaning

Rewinding & Special Forms

Stockholding

Stranding & Bunching

Braiding

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BS EN ISO 9120

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All data is provided for informational purposes only. In no event will Precision Metals EU and its partners, be liable with respect to any action taken by any third party arising from using the information taken from our online or printed sources. Chemical and Mechanical Properties should not be construed as maximum or minimum values for specifications, nor should the information be used to assess suitability for a particular use or application. The information and data provided are deemed to be accurate to the best of our knowledge and may be revised anytime without notice, and assume no duty to update.