en 
Call
+8613166245535
High Carbon Steel Tubing is commonly referred to as tool steel, with a carbon content typically ranging from 0.60% to 1.70%. It possesses excellent hardness and wear resistance. Compared to mild steel piping, high carbon steel tubing demonstrates superior strength and hardness, but it is slightly lacking in toughness and plasticity. Understanding the characteristics of these two types of steel tubing can help us make more informed choices in practical applications.
Advantages of High Carbon Steel Tubing
High hardness and wear resistance: After heat treatment, high carbon steel tubing can achieve high hardness (HRC 60-65) and excellent wear resistance.
Machinability: High carbon steel tubing has moderate hardness in an annealed state, offering good machinability and ease of processing and forming.
Low cost: The raw materials for high carbon steel tubing are readily available, and its production cost is low, making it a commonly used material in many industrial fields.
Disadvantages of High Carbon Steel Tubing
Poor hot hardness: High carbon steel tubing exhibits poor hot hardness. When the working temperature of tools exceeds 200°C, its hardness and wear resistance decrease significantly, affecting its service life.
Poor hardenability: High carbon steel tubing has low hardenability, with a maximum diameter of 15-18mm being fully hardened by water quenching, and the maximum diameter or thickness only around 6mm when oil quenching. It is also prone to deformation or cracking.
Although high carbon steel has superior hardness and strength compared to mild steel, it does not necessarily outperform mild steel in all applications. In practical engineering applications, material selection should be based on specific requirements:
High Carbon Steel
If the application requires high strength and hardness, with wear resistance being a key factor, high carbon steel is undoubtedly the best choice. It is suitable for manufacturing tools, cutting instruments, etc., that require high hardness. However, its lower toughness and brittleness need to be taken into special consideration during use.
Mild Steel
If the application requires high toughness, plasticity, and machinability, mild steel is more suitable. Mild steel has lower hardness but better ductility and impact resistance. It is commonly used in situations that require larger load-bearing capacity or high fatigue resistance, such as automotive structural components and building frames.
When choosing between high carbon steel tubing or mild steel piping, the choice should be based on the specific requirements of the application. High carbon steel tubing, with its superior hardness and wear resistance, is widely used for components requiring high strength and hardness.
On the other hand, mild steel piping, due to its good toughness and plasticity, has irreplaceable advantages in applications requiring strong ductility and impact resistance. Whether using high carbon steel tubing or mild steel piping, the appropriate processing techniques and usage environment should be determined based on their individual characteristics to achieve the best application results.
