Grade by grade
11 material guides: composition; JIS/ASTM/GB/EN comparison; tolerances; differences between grades.
Aluminium
6061-T6 aluminium machining
The default machining grade. Stocked in Vietnam as plate, bar and extrusion, and the one we quote fastest.
7075-T6 aluminium machining
The high-strength aluminium. Ordered in rather than stocked, not weldable, and only worth specifying when the load calls for it.
Stainless steel
304 stainless steel machining
The default austenitic stainless. Cheap and easy to buy anywhere, but it punishes a tool that has stopped cutting.
316L stainless steel machining
Molybdenum-bearing austenitic stainless for chlorides. Slower to cut than 304, so only worth it where the service needs it.
17-4PH stainless steel machining
Stainless that reaches 40 HRC. The ageing condition is half the specification, because H900 and H1075 behave as different materials in service.
Carbon & alloy steel
S45C and 1045 carbon steel machining
The cheapest steel that does the job, and every stockist in Vietnam carries it. The surface can be hardened. Left bare, it rusts.
4140 and SCM440 alloy steel machining
Chrome-moly steel that hardens through the section. The usual choice when S45C is not strong enough and stainless is not needed.
Tool steel
SKD11 and D2 tool steel machining
Cold-work tool steel at 58–62 HRC for dies, punches and mould components. Also the grade most often substituted with a steel that's not SKD11.
Titanium
Ti-6Al-4V titanium machining
Grade 5 titanium. Steel-level strength at about half the weight, and roughly ten times the machining trouble of aluminium.
Engineering plastics
POM and acetal machining
The engineering plastic that machines like brass. Very stable dimensionally for a polymer, though it still moves nine times as much as steel with temperature.
Reading a foreign drawing? Aluminium grade equivalents for all six grades in JIS, ASTM, GB and EN →
Grades we run regularly
Aluminium
Carbon & alloy steel
Tool steel
Stainless steel
Titanium & copper alloys
Engineering plastics
Grades outside the list: stock source, supply time and certificate confirmed before quotation.
Metals: EN 10204 3.1 on request | Plastics: batch traceability and raw material producer's declarations.
Changing grade, heat treatment condition or treatment: written approval required, including equivalent grades.