Materials
Which stainless steel grade should I choose: 301, 304, 316L or 430?
Answer
Key point Send the drawing and the annual volume together. The same part can be a progressive-die part at 2 million a year and a transfer-press part at 200,000, and a quotation that ignores volume is a quotation that will be re-cut before the tool is finished. Which materials are used for automotive stamping parts? DC01, DC03 and DC04 cold-rolled steel — the standard for housings and formed parts.
Sources
- Automotive Stamping Parts: Clips, Terminals & HousingsKey point Send the drawing and the annual volume together. The same part can be a progressive-die part at 2 million a year and a transfer-press part at 200,000, and a quotation that ignores volume is a quotation that will be re-cut before the tool is finished. Which materials are used for automotive...
- Metal Stamping Guide: Processes, Materials, Costs | BalfordWe design and build our tools in-house, in the same plant as the presses. That matters for a practical reason: when the strip layout or a station has to change after tryout, the people who designed it walk to the press and change it. A tool built by a third party goes back on a truck. Read more abou...
- Thin-Gauge Stainless Steel Stamping | BalfordGrade family Typical reason to select it Design point to confirm 301 stainless Spring function, retention force or work-hardening behaviour is required. Temper, bend direction, springback and the maximum forming strain must be matched to the heat or lot. 304 / 304L General corrosion-resistant housin...
- NOx Sensor Housing Material Selection | BalfordHome › Engineering data › NOx Sensor Housing Material Selection Engineering data · Material NOx Sensor Housing Material Selection Exhaust-side grade choice for NOx sensor housings Which material for a NOx sensor housing? 310S for the exhaust-side housing, because it holds oxidation ...
- Balford Materials | Stainless Steel, Brass & AluminiumHome › Company › Materials: Which Grade for Which Housing Company · Materials Materials: Which Grade for Which Housing Stainless steel · brass · copper · aluminium · spring steel What materials does Balford draw? Stainless steel is the default for automotive sensor housings - mainly 304,...
- Stainless Steel Wheel Speed Sensor Housing Manufacturer | BalfordWhich stainless grade is used for a sensor housing? 304 and 316L cover most pressure, ABS and exhaust-side temperature applications; coolant and water temperature housings are usually brass , because brass conducts heat about ten times faster and the thermo-well has to respond quickly. 310S is used ...
What an engineer still needs from you
- material and material condition (grade, temper)
- material thickness, plus the key diameter, height and wall thickness
- tolerances, burr direction and the visual acceptance standard
- annual volume - it decides whether tooling is single-hit, progressive or transfer
- surface finish, and any secondary machining, annealing or plating
Need a DFM feasibility assessment for your project?
Send the engineering drawing (STEP or PDF) with the material grade, thickness and annual volume. Balford engineers then check it against the process window - draw ratio, wall thickness, tolerances, blank and tooling route - and come back with what is feasible and what is not. An answer on this page cannot replace that review.
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This page is an engineering answer, not a quotation and not a dimensional acceptance. It is generated from Balford's published material and held to the verified company fact sheet.