10 Stainless Steel Ball Facts

1. Chromium and nickel are the most important alloying
elements in giving a stainless steel ball its corrosion resistance.

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2. When choosing a grade of stainless steel ball,
here are 8 factors to consider:

- Hardness / wear properties
- Corrosion / environmental resistance
- Resistance to oxidation and sulfidation
- Resistance to galling and seizing
- Magnetic properties
- Surface finish
- Tolerance/ degree of precision
- The stability of all of the above properties in service
- The presence of stray electric currents

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3. A stainless steel ball is classified as “hard” or “soft.”
The austenitic grades (302, 304, 304L, 316) and the ferritic stainless steel
430 generally fall under the category of “soft” stainless steel. 300 series
stainless steels do not have sufficient carbon to harden by heat treating.
Their tensile strength can be increased by cold working, but the strength
properties of the finished stainless steel ball are not considerably better
than the raw wire used to make it. An austenitic stainless steel ball is
often specified for high-temperature applications such as heat
exchangers and for the superheating tubes used in power boilers.

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4. A martensitic stainless steel ball (420, 440C) has
a higher carbon content and can be heat treated in the same way
as an alloy steel to achieve higher hardness and better wear properties.
As a result of the increased hardness, it is also simpler to produce a higher
precision stainless steel ball with martensitic stainless, as these materials
are well suited for very fine grinding and lapping processes.

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5. The corrosion resistance of a 300 series stainless
steel ball is generally superior to balls made from 400 series.
For many demanding applications (i.e. medical parts), a 316 stainless
steel ball is preferable when corrosion must be avoided.

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6. The magnetic properties of a ball are a consideration in
many cases. For most applications, a 300 series stainless steel ball is
considered nonmagnetic, with 316 generally offering the lowest magnetic
permeability. Manufacturing engineers are concerned with balls’ magnetic
properties because the balls are fed to their assembly point through
automated equipment, and a ball sticking to the equipment
(or another ball) can interrupt manufacturing.

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7. Stainless steel was first made on August 13, 1913 in
Sheffield, England. It contained 12.8% chromium and 0.24% carbon.
This important invention was first called "rustless steel.” When a cutlery
manufacturer tested the new material and could not stain it with vinegar,
it was renamed “stainless steel.”

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8. One of the most important brand name steel ball
varieties is TrimRite^® a stainless grade that is well-suited to medical
and dental products. A TrimRite stainless steel ball has greater corrosion
resistance than 420 or 440A.

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9. The most common stainless steel ball manufactured by
Hartford Technologies is 302, followed by 304, 304L, 316, 420, 430,
and 440C. Other grades can also be supplied.

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10. Some important stainless steel ball applications
include military ordnance systems, personal protection devices, medical
dispensing, hydraulic valves, firefighting equipment and sensors. They are
also used in ball plungers, sprinkler components and spray pumps.

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Hartford Technologies has 80+ years experience helping OEMs with
stainless steel ball requirements for every high-volume application.
Put Hartford’s technical team to work for your next program!

Visit this link for more on specific grades of stainless steel balls.
Or, refer to our stainless steel ball properties chart

In the market for miniature balls? Or, hollow steel balls?

TrimRite is a registered trademark of CRS Holdings, Inc., a subsidiary of Carpenter Technology Corp.

Hartford Technologies is a leading stainless steel ball manufacturer. We also manufacture bearings and bearing
assemblies, precision rollers, pins, and shafts, and have manu-facturing facilities in the U.S. and China. We provide
comprehensive value-added services, including application engineering and inventory management, to a customer
base that spans automotive to medical, leisure products to agriculture.

Hartford customers include leading OEMs, and diverse, specialized manufacturers on four continents. Our commitment
is to combine technical innovation with agility, responsive-ness and institutional strength – strength that comes from a
conservative management team, global manufacturing and logistics capability, & more than 80 years of leadership.