440C Steel – Composition, Properties and Uses

440C steel is a high-carbon chromium stainless steel known for its excellent hardness, wear resistance, and corrosion resistance. It is widely used where high strength and good corrosion resistance are required, especially in the manufacture of cutting tools, bearings, and other mechanical parts. In this article, we will analyze in detail the composition, properties, and uses of 440C steel.

440C Steel – Composition, Properties and Uses

440C Steel – 1. Composition：

The primary components of 440C steel are iron (Fe), carbon (C), and chromium (Cr), along with trace amounts of other alloying elements. Notably, the carbon content is relatively high, ranging between 0.95% and 1.20%, which enables 440C stainless steel to achieve exceptional hardness through heat treatment. The chromium content, varying between 16% and 18%, confers excellent corrosion resistance and oxidation resistance to the steel. Additionally, it contains small amounts of manganese (Mn), silicon (Si), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S), which also have an impact on the steel’s properties.

440C Steel – 2. Properties：

1. Hardness and Wear Resistance: After undergoing appropriate heat treatment, it can achieve a hardness ranging from HRC58 to 60, making it an ideal material for manufacturing high-hardness cutting tools and wear-resistant components. The combined effect of its high carbon content and chromium element allows the steel to maintain its hardness while also exhibiting good wear resistance.
2. Corrosion Resistance: Due to its high chromium content, it forms a dense chromium oxide film in oxidative environments, effectively preventing further oxidation of the steel. This enables 440C steel to maintain good corrosion resistance in wet, acidic, or alkaline conditions.
3. Mechanical Properties: In addition to hardness and wear resistance, it also possesses good tensile strength and yield strength. Its mechanical properties can be further optimized through appropriate heat treatment.
4. Machinability: Despite its high hardness, it exhibits good machinability in the annealed state. However, as the hardness increases after quenching and tempering, the machinability of the steel decreases accordingly.

440C Steel – 3. Uses：

1. Knife Manufacturing: 440C steel is a commonly used material for manufacturing high-quality knives, such as kitchen knives, hunting knives, and pocket knives. Its high hardness and excellent wear resistance allow the knives to maintain their sharpness for a long time.
2. Bearing Manufacturing: Due to its superior hardness and wear resistance, it is also often used in the manufacture of bearings and other components that need to withstand high loads and high-speed operation.
3. Mold Manufacturing: The high hardness and good mechanical properties of 440C stainless steel make it suitable for manufacturing injection molds, die-casting molds, and the like. These molds need to withstand high pressure and high temperature during operation, and 440C steel can meet these requirements.
4. Other Applications: In addition, 440C stainless steel is widely used in the manufacture of valves, springs, knife edges, and other applications that require high strength and good corrosion resistance.

Conclusion

To sum up, 440C steel, as a high-performance stainless steel, is widely used in many fields. Its high hardness, good wear resistance, and corrosion resistance make it excellent in many demanding applications.

Thank you for reading our article and we hope it can help you to have a better understanding of the composition, properties, and uses of 440C steel. If you are looking for 440C steel suppliers online now, please don’t hesitate to contact Huaxia Steel.

As a leading supplier of carbon steel products worldwide, Huaxia Steel provides customers with high-quality carbon steel, tool steel, alloy steel, carbon steel tubes, and carbon steel pipes at a very competitive price.