Balford processes stainless steel into deep-drawn housings, sleeves, washers and structural components for automotive, valve and industrial applications.
Deep-drawn stainless housings for wheel-speed, pressure and temperature sensors.
Thin-wall stainless sleeves for solenoid valve magnetic isolation.
Precision-stamped stainless washers and nut plates.
Stainless steel is Balford's most-used material for corrosion-resistant deep-drawn housings, sleeves and washers — including 304/316-class grades for sensor and solenoid valve applications.
In Balford's own sensor housing programmes, stainless steel is the standard choice: 300-series grades and SUS 430 account for almost every one of the 398 catalogue configurations. That is not a preference - it is what the operating environment forces. A sensor housing sits in coolant, road salt, brake dust, fuel, oil or exhaust condensate, and it has to keep a thin drawn wall dimensionally stable for the life of the vehicle. Carbon steel needs a coating to survive that, and every coating brings its own problems: plating thickness stacked on top of a wall tolerance, cut edges and threads where the coating is thin, and hydrogen-embrittlement risk on high-strength parts. Stainless removes the coating step and the failure modes that come with it.
| Sensor | Typical housing grade | Why that grade |
|---|---|---|
| Oxygen / lambda (upstream) | 304, 310S | 900 °C exhaust gas and thermal shock on start-up |
| NOx | 304, 310S | High temperature plus acidic condensate |
| Exhaust gas temperature (EGT) | 304, 316L, 310S | Continuous high temperature and vibration |
| ABS / wheel speed | 304, 316L | Road salt, brake dust and stone impact; non-magnetic |
| Coolant / water temperature | Brass (C3604, C3771) or 304 / 316L stainless | Brass conducts heat about 10× faster than stainless, so the thermo-well responds sooner - see brass temperature sensor housings. Stainless takes over where chlorides or aggressive coolant rule brass out |
| Oil and fuel pressure | 304, 316L | Fuel, oil and additive compatibility |
| Position / speed (magnetic circuit) | 430 / 1.4016 | Ferritic grade provides the magnetic return path |
Stainless is not drawn like carbon steel, and a supplier who treats it as if it were will crack parts or miss the wall tolerance. Austenitic grades work-harden quickly, so the tool needs more draw stages, inter-stage annealing where the draw ratio demands it, more open die radii, a higher blank-holder force and polished draw surfaces. Balford plans the stage sequence and the annealing route during the DFM review - before the die is cut - and controls wall thinning as a drawing characteristic rather than accepting whatever the first tryout produces.
After forming, stainless sensor housings are passivated to remove free iron from the surface. Because there is no plating step, a finished housing goes straight from forming and cleaning into inspection: one less supplier, one less tolerance stack, and no coating thickness on the drawing.
See the application page for forms, sizes and catalogue series - deep drawn automotive sensor housings - or the design guide, automotive sensor housing design: materials, wall thickness and tolerances.
Real projects from Balford's production history:
In Balford's catalogue, almost all of them are. The housing has to survive coolant, road salt, fuel, oil or exhaust condensate while holding a thin drawn wall to tolerance, and stainless does that without a plating layer. Carbon steel housings do exist, but they are normally plated, and the coating adds a thickness tolerance and loses its protection at cut edges and threads.
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 where exhaust gas temperatures reach 800-900 °C. 430 ferritic stainless is used where the housing has to form part of a magnetic circuit, because 304 and 316L are effectively non-magnetic.
Yes. Thin-wall stainless housings are drawn in multiple stages with inter-stage annealing where the draw ratio requires it, and wall thinning is controlled as a drawing characteristic. Typical sensor housing walls run from about 0.3 mm to 1.0 mm depending on diameter and grade.
No. It is passivated after forming to remove free iron, and that is normally the whole surface treatment. Removing the plating step also removes the coating thickness tolerance and the hydrogen-embrittlement risk that comes with plating high-strength steel.
We regularly process 304 and 316-class stainless steel. Material grade is confirmed against your application and drawing before quoting — other grades on request.
Yes. Deep drawing of stainless steel housings, sleeves and cups is a core capability, with controlled wall thickness and surface finish.
Stainless generally has higher material and tooling wear costs than carbon steel; quoting is based on grade, thickness and complexity.
Send us your 2D drawing or STEP/IGES model. We will review material, tolerances, forming requirements and production volume before quoting.
Related: ironing in deep drawing — how a thinned wall holds both the inside and the outside diameter · ironing instead of turning · ironing for solenoid valve housings (DT4E, DC04) · ironing tolerances and surface finish
Stainless drawn parts are usually sensor housings — see deep drawn stainless sensor housings for the wall, tolerance and corrosion requirements they have to meet.