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How Can You Use Carbon Steel In Domestic Projects?

Carbon steel is widely used in many industries. This is due to its affordability and excellent mechanical properties. Carbon steel is extremely durable and difficult to weld or cut. Whereas, certain types of carbon steel can easily be welded or cut into your desired shape.

Before going ahead and buying carbon steel, it is important to know about its uses and various types.

Understanding carbon steel:

When a steel has more carbon elements it gets hard and strong. However, it tends to become ductile. This means that it loses strength when it is deformed and thus becomes less malleable. When a steel has higher carbon content it becomes less weldable and the melting point becomes very low.

One should be aware of the fact that carbon steel is not stainless steel, which has different properties. Carbon steel comes in four types, each type has different utilities and properties.

Types of carbon steels and their uses:

Low carbon steel also known as mild steel is extremely strong and durable. It comes in the widest choice of shapes ranging from carbon steel sheet metals to structural beams. It is usually used for making wires, vehicle bodies, domestic appliances, and shipbuilding. It is also preferable to use low carbon steel for fencing gates and railings as it is hard but not brittle.

Mild steel is highly useful in building constructions and machinery parts. It can be combined in various ways and reformed as per the desired ratio of strength, ductility, and hardness.  Mild steel is known to be strong and tough and it is not easily tempered. Mild steel is popular due to the fact that it is relatively inexpensive and it has certain properties which are acceptable for many applications.

Medium carbon steel is comparatively stronger than low carbon steel. It is often hardened and tempered with heat treatment. Adding a little amount of silicon and manganese can improve the quality of this type of steel. This type of steel is also known as mild steel. It is highly useful in domestic appliances.

Heat treatment

The purpose of heat treating carbon steel is to change the mechanical properties of the steel. This process is usually done to change the ductility, hardness and yield strength of steel.

Mild steel can also be used to create a visually aesthetic metal gate and fencing for your house. It can also be painted and galvanized to prevent corrosion so that it can provide a long-lasting decorative finish to your gates.

When it comes to high carbon steels there are two types: one is high carbon steel and the other is ultra-high carbon steel. Both of them have different properties and uses. High carbon steels are okay to work with under heat pressure. Once heated they are easy to cut, bend and weld.

High carbon steel has much better tensile strength. It is highly useful in making blades, punches, dies and various cutting tools. On the other hand, ultrahigh carbon steel is very hard and not easy to work with. However, once you put it under heat pressure it can be worked with easily. It is used in making machine parts, cutting tools, industrial castings and metal lamp posts.

It is also used in the manufacturing of small tools such as screws, knives, nails, saws, and equipment required to cut wood.

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Written by Diana Perkins

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