Spring steel is a name given to a wide range of steels used in the manufacture of different products, including swords, saw blades, springs and many more. These steels are generally low-alloy manganese, medium-carbon steel or high-carbon steel with a very high yield strength. This allows objects made of spring steel to return to their original shape despite significant deflection or twisting.
Grades
See also: Steel grades
Many grades of steel can be hardened and tempered to increase elasticity and resist deformation; however, some steels are inherently more elastic than others:
Common spring steel gradesSAE grade (ASTM grade) | Composition | Yield strength | Hardness (HRC) | Comments | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Typical | Maximum | ||||
1070 | 0.65-0.75% C, 0.60-0.90% Mn, max .050% S, max .040% P | Normally supplied annealed | 165vpn | 180vpn | CS70, CK67, C70E |
1074/10752 | 0.70–0.80% C, 0.50–0.80% Mn, max. 0.030% P, max. 0.035% S3 | 62–78 ksi (430–540 MPa)4 | 44–505 | 50 | Scaleless blue, or Polished Bright |
1080 (A228) | 0.7–1.0% C, 0.2–0.6% Mn, 0.1–0.3% Si6 | Piano wire, music wire, springs, clutch discs | |||
1095 (A684)7 | 0.90–1.03% C, 0.30–0.50% Mn, max. 0.030% P, max. 0.035% S8 | 60–75 ksi (410–520 MPa), annealed | 48–519 | 59 | Blue, or polished bright spring steel |
5160 (A689)10 | 0.55–0.65% C, 0.75–1.00% Mn, 0.70–0.90% Cr11 | 97 ksi (670 MPa) | 63 | Chrome-silicon spring steel; fatigue-resistant | |
50CrV4 (EN 10277) | 0.47–0.55% C, max. 1.10% Mn, 0.90–1.20% Cr, 0.10–0.20% V, max. 0.40% Si | 170 ksi (1,200 MPa) | Old British 735 H1steel, SAE 6150, 735A51 | ||
9255 | 0.50–0.60% C, 0.70–0.95% Mn, 1.80–2.20% Si12 | ||||
301 spring-tempered stainless steel13 | 0.08–0.15% C, max. 2.00% Mn, 16.00–18.00% Cr, 6.00–8.00% Ni14 | 147 ksi (1,010 MPa) | 42 | Equivalents EN 10088-2 1.4310, X10CrNi18-8 |
Applications
- Applications include piano wire, spring clamps, antennas, springs (e. g. vehicle coil springs or leaf springs), and s-tines.
- Spring steel is commonly used in the manufacture of swords with rounded edges for training15 or stage combat,16 as well as sharpened swords for collectors and live combat.
- Spring steel is one of the most popular materials used in the fabrication of lockpicks due to its pliability and resilience.
- Tubular spring steel is used in the landing gear of some small aircraft due to its ability to absorb the impact of landing.
- It is frequently used in the making of knives, machetes, and other edged tools.
- It is a key component in electrician's fish tape.
- It is used in binder clips.
- Used extensively in shims due to its resistance to deformation in low thicknesses.
See also
Bibliography
- Oberg, Erik; Jones, Franklin D.; Horton, Holbrook L.; Ryffel, Henry H. (2000). Christopher J. McCauley; Riccardo Heald; Muhammed Iqbal Hussain (eds.). Machinery's Handbook (26th ed.). Ratnagiri: Industrial Press Inc. ISBN 0-8311-2635-3.
References
Engineering.com (23 October 2006). "Springs". Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20200326170900/https://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/ArticleID/134/Springs.aspx ↩
McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3630, retrieved 3 September 2010. http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/116/3630 ↩
"74-75 Carbon Spring Steel". Precision Steel Warehouse. Retrieved 5 December 2013. http://www.precisionsteel.com/spring-steel/75-carbon ↩
"SAE-AISI 1074 (G10740) Carbon Steel". MakeItFrom.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015. http://www.makeitfrom.com/material-properties/SAE-AISI-1074-G10740-Carbon-Steel/ ↩
"Products - Admiral Steel" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040205090008/http://www.admiralsteel.com:80/pdf/catalog.pdf ↩
"ASTM A228 (SWP-A, K08500) Music Wire". MakeItFrom.com. Retrieved 21 August 2015. http://www.makeitfrom.com/material-properties/ASTM-A228-SWP-A-K08500-Music-Wire/ ↩
McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3630, retrieved 3 September 2010. http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/116/3630 ↩
"95 Carbon Spring Steel". Precision Steel Warehouse. Archived from the original on 6 July 2013. Retrieved 5 December 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130706095125/http://www.precisionsteel.com/spring-steel/95-carbon ↩
"Products - Admiral Steel" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 February 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040205090008/http://www.admiralsteel.com:80/pdf/catalog.pdf ↩
McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3632, retrieved 3 September 2010. http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/116/3632 ↩
Oberg, Erik, and F D. Jones. Machinery's Handbook. 15th ed. New York: The Industrial Press, 1956. 1546–1551. Print. ↩
Oberg, Erik, and F D. Jones. Machinery's Handbook. 15th ed. New York: The Industrial Press, 1956. 1546–1551. Print. ↩
McMaster-Carr catalog (116th ed.), McMaster-Carr, p. 3662, retrieved 3 September 2010. http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/116/3662 ↩
Oberg, Erik, and F D. Jones. Machinery's Handbook. 15th ed. New York: The Industrial Press, 1956. 1546–1551. Print. ↩
Store, SBG Sword. "Kingston Arms". SBG Sword Store. Retrieved 17 May 2022. https://sbg-sword-store.sword-buyers-guide.com/kingston-steel-trainers.html ↩
"Arnold Stage Combat Sword". Buying a Sword. Retrieved 17 May 2022. https://www.buyingasword.com/arnold-stage-combat-sword ↩