what do the numbers stand for? 1

[chadtoolio]

Forgive me upfront for the silly question.. I know to many of you this is a given..

What do the numbers stand for in front of the types of metals? Is there a list of them some where I could look at with the appropriate uses listed and pros and cons?


Thanks in advance...

Chad

 

[Rich2001]

Here is a link to a page on the UNIFIED NUMBERING SYSTEM and a few refernce books on the topic:

http://www.metalinfo.com/UUNSWMetalGoup.CFM

http://www.normas.com/ASTM/BOOKS/DS56CD.html

DS56CD - Metals and Alloys in the Unified Numbering System, CD-ROM (ASTM)
Contains over 4,800 metals and alloys designations, including over 800 new and revised entries since the 7th edition (1996

http://www.normas.com/NACE/pages/37731.html

37731 - Metals and Alloys in the Unified Numbering System, 7th Edition (NACE)
This book guides you through the maze of trade names and designation systems to the metal or alloy you need. First published in 1975 and updated continually since then, the seventh edition contains al

 

[welding1]

The numbers will tell you a lot about the material, if you can understand them?
For example a 1075 aluminium contains 99.75% aluminium but the same logic does not follow with a 3003, this contains aluminium + 1.25% manganese.

Unfortunately there is no simple answer, different organisation use different numbering systems which can be both confusing and very misleading. For example a German spec 10CrMo910 you would think contained 10% Chrome, its actually 2% Chrome 1% Moly.

You tend to pick up the numbers by experience rather than logic!

If you need to understand stainless steel there is a useful pdf file located at

http://www.avestasheffield.com/steelGrades/steelgrades.PDF

For info on other materials try

http://www.matweb.com

There are more useful links to material sites in

http://www.gowelding.com