Lifting magnet have been widely used in industrial manufacturing. It is mainly used for magnetic materials, such as steel plates, steel pipes, billets, coils, profiles, etc. And some enterprises wonder whether our lifting magnet is suitable for stainless steel or not. So let’s unravel the confusion today.
What is stainless steel?
All stainless steel’s chemical composition contains iron. In most cases, stainless steel varieties with iron in their composition are magnetic. But if the alloy has an austenitic crystal structure, then it’s not magnetic. This is from google, and true. This is also a good refutation of a confusion that many people may have since childhood — stainless steel are non-magnetic, while magnetic steel is not stainless steel. The truth is many stainless steel varieties are magnetic.
According to Chinese GB/T20878-2007, corrosion resistance as the main characteristic of stainless steel, the chromium content occupies at least 10.5%, the maximum carbon content occupies no more than 1.2% of the steel.
The classification of stainless steel
Stainless steel is often divided by structure state: martensitic steel, ferritic steel, austenitic steel, austenitic-ferritic (duplex) stainless steel and precipitation hardening stainless steel. In addition, it can be divided by composition: chromium stainless steel, chromium-nickel stainless steel and chromium-manganese nitrogen stainless steel, etc.. There are also special stainless steels used for pressure vessels “GB24511_2009_stainless steel plates and strips for pressure-bearing equipment”.
Austenitic stainless steel such as 304, 321, 316, 310, etc. is non-magnetic or weakly magnetic. Martensitic or ferritic type: such as 403, 410, 414, 416, 416 (Se), 420, 430, 431, 440A, 440B and 440C type is magnetic. Martensitic type is mainly used in some parts with high mechanical property requirements of sharpness and certain hardness, and general corrosion resistance requirements, such as springs, turbine blades, hydraulic press valves, knife and shears, etc.
HVR MAG lifting magnet for stainless steel handling
HVR MAG engineers have previously encountered customers demanding for handling martensitic stainless steel workpieces. The handling of such workpieces is almost the same as handling other ferrous materials. Once we are familiar with the specifications of the stainless steel according to the specific working conditions, custom design and lifting solutions can be provided by our specialist technical engineers. As long as it is martensitic or ferritic stainless steel, the product can be magnetically conductive. And our lifting magnet can work with it.
Next time if you are not sure if your materials are magnetic or not, you can also try a magnet. Or you can just email us about lifting magnet for stainless steel: export@hvrmagnet.com
