Balford produces carbon steel stamped and deep-drawn parts — housings, sleeves, ferrules and brackets — with plating-ready surfaces for cost-effective OEM volumes.
Deep-drawn low-carbon steel housings with plating-ready surfaces.
Stamped carbon-steel ferrules for harness and connector applications.
65Mn spring-steel shim blanks with tight flatness control.
Carbon steel is the workhorse material for structural and plated components at Balford: deep-drawn solenoid housings, slotted ferrules, brackets and precision plates in mild and spring steel grades.
What each grade actually is, what the standard guarantees, where it is used, and which grade to move to when the first choice does not work. Values are the standard minimums or typical annealed ranges; every lot is confirmed against its mill certificate.
The EN 10130 deep-drawing ladder: each step buys draw depth and costs money, so the cheapest grade that survives the last draw wins.
| Grade | EN | UNS / AISI | JIS | GB | Chemistry (wt%) | Mechanical | Typical use | Use instead when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DC01 | 1.0330 | — | SPCC | 08F / Q195 | C ≤0.12 · Mn ≤0.60 · P ≤0.045 · S ≤0.045 | Rm 270–410 · Re ≤280 · A80 ≥28 | Shallow forming, brackets, general presswork | The economical default when the part is not really drawn |
| DC03 | 1.0347 | — | SPCD | 08Al | C ≤0.10 · Mn ≤0.45 | Rm 270–380 · Re ≤240 · A80 ≥34 | Moderate draws, covers, shallow cups | Step up from DC01 when the first draw starts to tear |
| DC04 | 1.0338 | — | SPCE | 08Al | C ≤0.08 · Mn ≤0.40 | Rm 270–350 · Re ≤210 · A80 ≥38 | Deep-drawn housings and sleeves | The deep-drawing workhorse for sensor and valve housings |
| DC05 | 1.0312 | — | — | — | C ≤0.06 · Mn ≤0.30 | Rm 270–330 · Re ≤190 · A80 ≥40 | Very deep draws, multi-stage sequences | Replaces DC04 when the first draw ratio passes about 1.9 |
Rm = tensile strength, Rp0.2 = 0.2% proof stress, A80 = elongation at 80 mm gauge. Chemistry is the ladle range from the named standard. Cold work, temper and heat treatment move the mechanical values, so the certificate for the delivered coil is the governing document.
Other materials: Stainless steel · Aluminium · Brass · Copper · Monel 400 · Special alloys
Full material catalogue — every grade we form and machine, with process fit →
Real Balford projects that specified this material. The grade and the wording from the job record are kept so you can compare against your own drawing.
22 cases on this page.
Grade selection decides whether a part forms in one hit or needs redraws and an anneal. What we see in production:
Two coils can look identical on the drawing and behave completely differently in the press: the r-value and the thickness tolerance decide the number of draws, and both come from the mill certificate, not from the grade name alone. How draw ratio and draw stages are calculated →
The grade table above covers the low-carbon drawing grades, which is where most formed parts live. Carbon content is the other half of the decision, and it moves the part in the opposite direction from drawability: as carbon rises, strength and hardness rise and the material’s ability to flow falls. The FAQ below records 65Mn spring steel as a grade we process, so it is worth being explicit about where the line falls.
| Carbon class | Typical grades | What it does in the press | What it is chosen for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low carbon (drawing quality) | DC01–DC06, SPCC / SPCD / SPCE, 1008 / 1010 | Flows readily; draws in one hit or a few stages; softest and least strong of the three | Drawn housings, cups, enclosures, covers, brackets |
| Medium carbon | SAE 1040 / 1045 / 1050, C45, S45C | Higher strength and hardness, less ductility; needs more force, and a redraw usually needs an intermediate anneal | Brackets and levers that carry load, washers, parts that are hardened after forming |
| High carbon / spring | 65Mn, SAE 1060 / 1070, C67 | Takes spring properties after hardening; blanking and light forming only — deep drawing a hardened high-carbon part is not practical | Spring shims, spring cups, valve spring seats, clutch and brake parts |
Two consequences for a drawing. First, the anneal: medium and high carbon parts that need more than light forming normally require an intermediate anneal between stages, and bulk heat treatment is carried out by qualified partners rather than in our own plant — so it is declared on the quote and it adds to the lead time. Second, the trade between strength and drawability: if a part is specified in a higher-carbon grade for strength but the geometry needs a deep draw, the usual answer is to form it in a low-carbon drawing grade and take the strength from the process rather than from the material. Where a part is specified in a medium or high carbon grade, the forming route — blanking only, or forming with an anneal — is confirmed against the drawing before a price is given.
The spring end of this range appears in the case archive: 65Mn spring steel shim blanking. Flat parts of that family are covered under custom metal shims, washers and spring cups; the drawing grades themselves are set out on deep drawing steel grades, DC01 to DC06.
The failure modes are predictable and almost always tooling-side: wrinkling when the blank holder force is too low, tearing when the draw ratio or the die radius is wrong, and earing when the blank layout ignores the rolling direction. That is why the same material can run clean in one tool and scrap in another. The four calculations that prevent it → Estimate the press tonnage first with the stamping force calculator or the deep draw calculator.
Carbon steel is the cheapest of the three and the most predictable to draw in volume. Stainless steel adds corrosion resistance at the cost of faster work hardening and an earlier anneal. Aluminium cuts weight, but its lower modulus and higher springback usually mean more stages for the same geometry. See stainless steel, aluminium and the deep drawing guide.
Real projects from Balford's production history:
Mild steel (SPCC/DC01 class), high-strength and spring steel (65Mn) are commonly processed. Grade selection follows the drawing and function.
Yes. Parts can be supplied ready for plating (zinc, nickel, chrome) or we coordinate surface treatment with qualified suppliers.
Yes — low-carbon steel is one of the easiest materials to deep draw, giving predictable wall thickness and good repeatability.
Every draw consumes the material’s remaining ductility by work-hardening it. A low-carbon drawing grade has enough ductility in reserve to take several stages; a medium or high carbon grade runs out sooner, so the part has to be softened before the next stage or it tears at the die radius. That anneal is a separate operation, it is bulk heat treatment carried out by a qualified partner rather than in our own plant, and it is stated on the quote because it changes both the cost and the lead time.
Usually not as a deep draw. High carbon grades such as 65Mn or SAE 1060 are chosen for spring behaviour after hardening, and in that state they blank and lightly form rather than flow. If the geometry genuinely needs a deep draw, the practical route is to form it in a low-carbon drawing grade and get the strength from the process — thinning, a formed rib, or a hardening step afterwards. The two options are compared against the drawing at DFM, before a price is given.
Send us your 2D drawing or STEP/IGES model. We will review material, tolerances, forming requirements and production volume before quoting.
Where the housing carries flux rather than only shape, the choice moves to DC04 or the DT4 pure iron family.