A Quick Look at Steels Used for Fasteners
Fasteners are often made of steel, but there are many different types of steel. Here are the steels most commonly used for fasteners: Alloy steels: Steels alloyed with molybdenum, nickel, and chromium (AISI 4037, 4130, 8630) are best if strength is required. These steels also have good cold-forming properties when annealed and can be heat-treated for the best combination of strength, toughness, and shock resistance. Carbon steels: Fine-grain, fully killed (i.e., completely deoxidized) basic steel with no alloying agent. Low-carbon steels have from 0.06 to 0.22% carbon content (AISI 1008, 1010, 1018, and 1022) and exhibit good ductility for cold-forming. Medium-carbon steels contain 0.30 to 0.50% carbon content (AISI 1038, 1045) and are stronger but less ductile. These steels respond well to quench and temper. High-carbon steels contain 0.50% or more carbon (AISI 1066, 1095). They are difficult to cold-form unless annealed. They do, however, have high strength and can be heat-tre...