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Medium Carbon Steel Plate
1. Product Overview
Medium carbon steel plate, with a carbon content ranging from 0.25% to 0.60%, offers an optimal balance between strength, hardness, and ductility. Its key characteristic is responsiveness to heat treatment (quenching and tempering), which allows its mechanical properties to be significantly enhanced for specific applications. Commonly supplied in grades like 1045/AISI 1045 or S45C, it is a fundamental material for manufacturing critical mechanical components such as shafts, gears, axles, crankshafts, and high-strength structural parts where a combination of wear resistance and toughness is required.
2. Key Features
(1)Optimal Balance of Strength and Toughness:
Its carbon content (0.25%-0.60%) provides a superior combination of tensile strength, hardness, and ductility compared to low-carbon steels, making it ideal for components that withstand both stress and impact.
(2)Excellent Response to Heat Treatment:
It can be significantly hardened and strengthened through processes like quenching and tempering, allowing its mechanical properties (e.g., hardness up to ~45 HRC) to be tailored for specific, demanding applications.
(3)Good Machinability in Annealed State and High Wear Resistance:
When supplied in a normalized or annealed condition, it offers good machinability. After proper heat treatment, it develops high surface hardness, resulting in excellent wear resistance for dynamic parts.
3. Technical Parameters of Medium Carbon Steel Plate
| Parameter | Specification / Typical Range | Standard / Note |
|---|---|---|
| Standard Designation | GB/T 711 (35-60#), SAE/AISI 10xx (e.g., 1045), JIS SxxC (e.g., S45C), EN 10083-2 (e.g., C45E) | Grade defined by carbon content. |
| Carbon Content (C%) | 0.25% ~ 0.60% | Defines the "medium carbon" range. |
| Thickness Range | 3 mm ~ 200+ mm | Commonly available as hot-rolled plate. |
| Yield Strength (As-rolled) | ≥ 275 MPa ~ 450 MPa | Varies significantly with grade and thickness. |
| Tensile Strength (As-rolled) | ≥ 490 MPa ~ 700 MPa | Increases with higher carbon content. |
| Elongation (Min, As-rolled) | 16% ~ 21% | Generally decreases as carbon content increases. |
| Hardness (As-rolled, HB) | ~150 ~ 250 HB | Can be increased dramatically via heat treatment. |
| Primary Heat Treatment | Quenching & Tempering (Q&T) | Standard process to achieve high strength/toughness. |
| Typical Hardness (After Q&T) | 25 ~ 45 HRC | Adjustable based on tempering temperature. |
| Primary Application | Shafts, gears, axles, high-strength bolts, molds, machine parts | Chosen for its balance of strength, toughness, and response to heat treatment. |
4. Application Scenarios
(1)Critical Power Transmission Components:
Widely used for manufacturing shafts (camshafts, crankshafts), axles, gears, and spindles in automotive, industrial machinery, and agricultural equipment, where a balance of high strength, good toughness, and resistance to fatigue loading is essential.
(2)High-Strength Structural and Fastening Parts:
Serves as material for high-strength bolts, connecting rods, forged flanges, and structural parts in presses and tools, benefiting from its enhanced strength-to-weight ratio after heat treatment compared to mild steel.
(3)Tooling and Wear-Resistant Components:
Used for jigs, fixtures, molds (plastic, die-casting), and wear plates that require greater hardness and durability than low-carbon steel can provide, often following surface hardening treatments like induction hardening.
5. FAQ
Q1:Why is medium carbon steel favored for shafts and gears over low-carbon steel?
A1:Medium carbon steel offers a much higher strength and hardness potential after heat treatment (quenching & tempering), which is crucial for components enduring significant torsional and bending stresses, contact fatigue, and wear. Low-carbon steel lacks sufficient hardenability for such demanding roles.
Q2:How does heat treatment change the properties of medium carbon steel plate?
A2:Quenching rapidly cools the steel, transforming its microstructure to a very hard but brittle state (martensite). Subsequent Tempering reheats it to a specific temperature, precisely reducing brittleness and increasing toughness while maintaining a high level of strength and hardness, tailoring the final properties for the application.
Q3:What's the main difference between grades like 1045 and 4140?
A3:1045 is a standard medium carbon steel. 4140 is a chromium-molybdenum alloy steel (AISI 4140). While both are medium carbon, 4140 has added alloys (Cr, Mo) that give it much higher hardenability, strength, and fatigue resistance, making it suitable for more critical, high-stress components.
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