300 Series Stainless Steel Wire
Spring makers, fastener manufacturers, and wire formers use 300 series stainless steel wire when corrosion resistance and strength are important product features. Gibbs provides many stainless wire alloys including the most commonly used grades:
302
304
316
300 series stainless steel is also sometimes referred to as 18-8 grades. All 300 grades are austenitic. Austenitic grades will not gain strength after heat treatment. They gain their tensile and yield strength by cold working or drawing. If hardening by heat treatment is required 400 series stainless wire should be considered.
302, 304, and 316 stainless steel wire is used for countless applications where high strength and corrosion resistance are required. For added corrosion resistance 316 may be selected. It is lesser in strength than 302 but it offers improved corrosion characteristics due to the added Molybdenum.
Common industries relying on 300 series stainless wire:
Automotive
Aerospace
Chemical Processing
Commercial Products
Electronics
Machinery
Medical
Oil & Gas
Recreational Vehicles
Many coatings and finishes are available including Bright, Soap, and Nickel. Coatings are added for drawing purposes and lubricity for many processes including spring coilers. Bright wire or “diamond drawn” is typically supplied under 0.025” diameter and often used for medical applications
Common specifications for 300 series wire:
ASTM A 313
SAE J230
AMS 5688
SUS304 WPB
All 300 grades can be supplied as Spring Temper, ¼ hard, ½ hard, ¾ hard and fully annealed. Gibbs can provide custom-drawn wire to your specific tensile range.
Most 300 series wire is rated for maximum operating temperatures of 400 to 450 degrees (check specifications by alloy).
Much of the wire Gibbs provides to the industries noted above is used to manufacture springs. When springs are made they go through a spring coiling process. That process adds stress to the formed spring. Most manufacturers stress-relieve their springs after forming. Stress-relieving reduces the work-hardened stresses making the spring stronger. Many spring makers include this operation in-line with their coiling operation.
After coiling and stress relieving, the springs may also be passivated. The purpose of passivating is to protect the invisible oxide film that completely covers the surface of the parts by removing surface contamination so that the protective film layer is not interrupted. Passivating is done by immersing the parts in a nitric acid solution.
Gibbs is a premier supplier of tempered stainless steel wire in the US, Canada, and Mexico. In addition to 300 series, we offer PH grades, 400 series, carbon steel, nickel alloys, specialty metals, cobalt alloys, and more. For more information or to request a quote: CONTACT US
