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]]>304 vs 316 Stainless Steel: What’s the Difference and Which Should You Use?
Stainless steel is one of the most widely used materials in manufacturing and engineering — known for its strength, corrosion resistance, and sleek appearance. Among the many types of stainless steel, 304 and 316 are by far the most common. But how do they differ, and when should you choose one over the other?
Let’s explore the differences between 304 and 316 stainless steel in terms of composition, properties, applications, and cost.
Composition Difference
The key difference between 304 and 316 stainless steel lies in their chemical makeup:
Element | 304 Stainless Steel | 316 Stainless Steel |
Chromium | 18–20% | 16–18% |
Nickel | 8–10.5% | 10–14% |
Molybdenum | 0% | 2–3% |
316 stainless steel contains molybdenum, a powerful alloying element that significantly improves corrosion resistance, especially against chlorides and other industrial solvents.
Corrosion Resistance
304 SS is excellent for general-purpose corrosion resistance — ideal for indoor or dry environments.
316 SS, with the addition of molybdenum, offers superior resistance to salt water, chlorides, and harsh chemicals. This makes it the top choice for marine, medical, and chemical environments.
If your application involves exposure to salt (like in coastal regions or marine gear), 316 is the safer choice.
Mechanical Properties
Both grades offer excellent mechanical strength and durability, with minor differences in their tensile strength and elongation. They’re equally suitable for most fabrication methods, including welding and machining.
Property | 304 SS | 316 SS |
Tensile Strength | ~505 MPa | ~515 MPa |
Yield Strength | ~215 MPa | ~205 MPa |
Hardness | ~HRB 88 | ~HRB 79 |
Cost Difference
Because of the molybdenum and higher nickel content, 316 stainless steel is generally 20–30% more expensive than 304. For applications that don’t require extreme corrosion resistance, 304 is more cost-effective.
Common Applications
304 Stainless Steel:
Kitchen equipment and appliances
Architectural trim
Food processing equipment
Storage tanks
316 Stainless Steel:
Marine hardware and boat fittings
Pharmaceutical and medical devices
Chemical processing equipment
Coastal construction
How to Choose: 304 or 316?
Environment | Recommended Steel |
Indoors/Dry Climate | 304 |
Food-Safe Surfaces | 304 or 316 |
Marine or Coastal Use | 316 |
Chemical Exposure | 316 |
Budget-Sensitive Jobs | 304 |
If you’re unsure, ask yourself: Will my part be exposed to moisture, salt, or harsh chemicals? If yes, 316 is likely worth the investment.
Conclusion
Both 304 and 316 stainless steel are excellent materials — strong, versatile, and corrosion-resistant. The difference lies in the details: 304 is more than sufficient for many general uses, but 316 stands out in tough environments where corrosion is a serious concern.
At IN3DTEC, we offer custom fabrication, CNC machining, and 3D printing services using both 304 and 316 stainless steel. Not sure which one is right for your project? Contact our team — we’re here to help!
Ready to get started?
Send your drawings or questions to [email protected] or visit www.in3dtec.com for an instant quote.
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]]>The post Exploring the difference: Copper, Brass, and Bronze appeared first on IN3DTEC | Prototyping & On-demand manufacturing services.
]]>Exploring the difference: Copper, Brass, and Bronze
By understanding the unique properties and applications of copper, brass, and bronze, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the remarkable world of metal alloys and their contributions to art, industry, and everyday life.
Copper:
copper or red copper or pure copper, copper has a certain amount of natural copper. By default, natural copper artificially mixed with other substances contains pure copper, also known as red copper. It has a certain amount of metallic glass and extension. Pure copper is a purple-red metal, that’s why it is commonly known as “red copper”. Pure copper is malleable. Pure copper, the size of a drop of water, can be drawn into filaments up to two kilometers long, or pressed into a nearly transparent foil larger than a bed.
Brass:
is an alloy of copper and zinc. The simplest brass is a copper-zinc binary alloy, called simple brass or ordinary brass. The brass used in industry now generally contains less than 45% zinc, so the common brass is mostly yellow. Zinc is added to brass to improve mechanical strength and corrosion resistance.
Bronze:
is an alloy, primarily composed of copper and tin. It is one of the oldest known alloys used by humans and has been utilized for various purposes throughout history. Bronze is valued for its durability, strength, and resistance to corrosion. The specific composition of bronze can vary, with different proportions of copper and tin, depending on the desired characteristics and applications. Bronze is commonly used in the production of sculptures, musical instruments, decorative items, and architectural elements. It possesses a distinctive reddish-brown color and can be polished to a lustrous finish.
Tin bronze is an alloy of copper and tin; beryllium bronze is an alloy of copper and beryllium; phosphor bronze commonly used in electrical appliances is a combination of phosphorus and copper. Alloys, etc.
Tin bronze round steel bronze with tin as the main alloying element. The tin content is generally between 3 and 14%, and it is mainly used to make elastic components and wear-resistant parts. Wrought tin bronze contains no more than 8% tin, and elements such as phosphorus, lead, and zinc are sometimes added. Phosphorus is a good deoxidizer and also improves fluidity and wear resistance. Adding lead to tin bronze can improve machinability and wear resistance, and adding zinc can improve casting performance. This alloy has high mechanical properties, anti-friction properties and corrosion resistance, easy cutting, good brazing and welding properties, small shrinkage coefficient, and non-magnetic. Bronze lining can be prepared by wire flame spraying and electric arc spraying
In summary, Copper is actually pure copper, while brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Since the price of copper is higher than that of zinc, the price of pure copper is higher than that of copper-zinc alloys.
Understanding the differences between copper, brass, and bronze provides valuable insights into the world of metal alloys. Copper, often referred to as red copper or pure copper, is a naturally occurring metal cherished for its metallic luster and exceptional ductility. On the other hand, brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, offering enhanced mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. Its characteristic yellow color makes it a popular choice in various applications. Lastly, bronze, a mixture of copper and tin, stands out for its durability, strength, and resistance to corrosion. With its rich history and versatility, bronze has been utilized for centuries in sculptures, musical instruments, and decorative elements.
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]]>SLA Somos Taurus
Somos Taurus is a high-performance SLA resin that is ideal for creating functional, durable parts with excellent mechanical properties and surface finish.
Somos Taurs Description
Somos Taurus is a dark Navy-colored resin that is designed to produce parts with excellent detail and surface finish. It has a high modulus of elasticity, which means it can withstand stress and deformation without breaking. This makes it suitable for creating parts that require high stiffness and dimensional stability, such as automotive components, aerospace parts, and medical devices.
Print volume: 800*600*500mm
Layer thickness: 0.08mm
Color: Dark Navy/Blue
Wall thickness:0.5mm minimum
Tolerance: ±0.2% (with a lower limit of ±0.2 mm)
• Easy to clean & finish
• High strength & durability
• Accurate & dimensionally stable
• High detail
Low heat resistance
Make Your parts with affordable Price | instant Quote within Seconds
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]]>The post How to choose the right technology for transparent parts? appeared first on IN3DTEC | Prototyping & On-demand manufacturing services.
]]>How to choose the right technology for transparent parts?
Clear parts and prototypes have a huge variety of applications. Fortunately, they’re also fairly easy to make, with a wide range of materials and prototyping technologies at your disposal.
This article goes over the basics of transparent parts: which manufacturing technologies are available and what materials you can use, and considerations for how to choose the right technology.
3D printing
While additive manufacturing has evolved significantly, it is still fairly limited when it comes to printing transparent parts. The best results can be achieved via stereolithography (SLA).
SLA machines and resins are increasingly diverse, with a number of different options available for clear parts. Quite extensive manual processing is required after printing to get a clear finish, but good results can be achieved, especially for appearance prototypes and display models. The finish and material characteristics won’t match those of a machined part, but the capability of 3D printing to produce difficult and complex geometries might give it the edge, depending on the project. Speed is a big advantage of 3D printing clear parts, especially for one-off rapid prototypes.
Clear SLA 3D printing is often used in the dental industry to make clear aligner models, splints, and other devices, and the technology can also be used for aesthetic products like jewelry.
CNC machining
CNC machining from billet is one of the quickest options for prototyping a clear plastic part. Depending on your part and the geometry, CNC machining can produce very good results.
The two main options in terms of materials are PMMA and PC. Even if PC is the production material, it might not be the best choice for the prototype. PMMA, or acrylic, is much easier to machine and polishes to a glass-like, transparent finish. PC, on the other hand, is much more difficult to polish; achieving a high optical finish may require a vapor polish after several rounds of hand work with finer and finer grit sandpaper. Even after all this, the machined PC may not have an even finish.
If you are looking for transparent parts for a prototype or model for aesthetic or display purposes, PMMA is a better option. You may still want to use PC if you need to test the parts functionally, but bear in mind the limitations of the surface finish.
Vacuum casting
Vacuum casting has a number of unique advantages over the other processes on this list. Silicone molds are used to cast polyurethane resins to form the final parts. A number of transparent PU resins are available, designed to replicate other production plastics such as PC or PMMA.
Vacuum casting clear parts will be cheaper than some of the other methods, if you are looking at a low-volume run rather than just a one off. Achieving good optical tInjection moldingransparency does not require as much manual labor as CNC machining or additive manufacturing do.
Other advantages include the capability to cast large or complex parts in a single piece and adding a tint or color to the clear part. The disadvantage is that this can be quite costly.
Injection molding
Clear plastic must first have a high degree of transparency, secondly, to have a certain strength and wear resistance, impact resistance, heat is better, excellent chemical resistance, water absorption less, only in this way can be used, can meet the requirements of transparency and long-term change, table listed below, compare performance of PMMA, PC and PET， which are the most common used three material for injection molding.
From the data in table show that PC is an ideal choice, but its raw material prices and the optical injection process is more difficult, it is still dominated by using PMMA. PET is mainly used for packaging or containers, and in order to get a good mechanical performance, it has to be went through stretching process.
The Right Rapid Prototyping Services for Your Clear Parts
Choosing the right rapid prototyping services for clear parts depends on several factors: the type of prototype you need (display, mechanical, final-stage), the project budget, and the number of units you require.
Processes like SLA and vacuum casting fall short when it comes to functional and mechanical prototypes, but they are good for visual prototypes because they produce a high-quality finish. Furthermore, they are cheaper than CNC machining and injection molding. For one-off prototypes, SLA and CNC machining are the most viable, while vacuum casting and injection molding are better for medium and large order volumes, respectively.
If you want to know more about the best rapid prototyping services for your next project, contact IN3DTEC and we’ll guide you to the right solution.
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]]>The post How to choose the right soft material? appeared first on IN3DTEC | Prototyping & On-demand manufacturing services.
]]>How to choose the right soft material?
Soft materials are around our lives, from common commercial uses including toys, ski boots, athletic shoes, to the medical industry including resuscitator parts, connectors, and mouthpieces, or to the automotive industry including floor mats, interior and exterior parts, and so on. We must have heard the names of these materials, but maybe we do not learn them closely.
Today’s topic, we will compare two groups of material. One group is TPE and TPU. The other is rubber and silicone. After reading, you will know the fundamental difference between two groups and the differences between two materials in one group, their applications and their molding processes. In the end you will know how to choose the right soft material for your product.
TPE and TPU
The difference between TPE and TPU
A thermoplastic elastomer is a type of thermoplastic polymer. Thermoplastics melt when heated above the material’s melting point and solidify when cooled. Because this melting process can be repeated many times, thermoplastics can be recycled. Thermoset polymers, on the other hand, cannot be melted again once they are formed. Silicone and synthetic rubber are thermosets.
Thermoplastic elastomers are thermoplastics with an elastomeric component that makes them soft and flexible. Although they can have a rubbery feel and are sometimes called thermoplastic rubber, they are not made out of rubber.
TPE (thermoplastic elastomer) and TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) are among the most popular categories of thermoplastic elastomers — and while many use the terms interchangeably, they have some key differences. For starters, TPEs are a category encompassing a wide variety of thermoplastic elastomers while TPU only refers to a smaller subset. TPU is also newer to the manufacturing industry than TPE.
How TPE and TPU are defined is by their hardness, which measures a material’s resistance to surface deformation. As we know, TPU is harder than TPE, and TPU’s Shore hardness is between 60A and 55D.
Logically, TPE has a wider range of hardness than TPU. the hardness range of TPE can be chosen from shore hardness scale 0 to 100 of shore hardness. The variation in chemical formulation of TPE means some types of TPE are partially hard and suitable for something like a car tire, while other types are very rubbery, like a rubber band.
Other differences include that a TPU print will be heavier, because TPU is denser than other TPEs. TPU also has a smooth finish, while TPEs usually have a more rubbery texture. TPU has better resistance to abrasion than most TPEs, and TPU shrinks less than other TPEs.
Applications
TPE is the polymer of choice for any application that must be soft to the touch and feature good elastic or non-slip properties. They are also ideal for applications in which a part must conform to a companion part. Common commercial uses for TPE include pencil grip handles, grips for hockey sticks, toys, and ski boots. In the medical industry, TPEs can be found in resuscitator parts, connectors, and mouthpieces. In the automotive industry, TPE is used in weatherproof seals, floor mats, interior and exterior parts, airbag covers, and bumpers.
TPEs do have a few limitations that product teams should keep in mind. For example, TPEs have been known to melt at extremely high temperatures and should only be used for parts whose uses will subject it to temperatures within the manufacturer’s specified temperature range. TPEs generally perform worse under heavy loads and have less chemical and temperature resistance than traditional thermoset rubbers.
TPU can be found in a wide cross-section of industries, from automotive, to agriculture, to textiles. The material’s unique combination of scratch and abrasion resistance makes it an excellent material for manufacturing automotive interior parts like gear knobs, instrument panels, or console parts. Its flexibility and breathability make it well-suited for sports apparel and athletic shoes. Some engineers have also developed niche TPUs to meet the increasing demand for high-performance polymers with low compression sets, abrasion resistance, and oil resistance for seals and gaskets.
Compared to polyvinyl chloride (PVC), TPU is lighter, more elastic, and more abrasion-resistant. It’s also possible to color and process TPU. It makes sense to choose TPU over PVC from an environmental standpoint because this material is recyclable and frequently used to lower carbon emissions. Also, TPU outpaces most other TPEs in a few key ways. TPU is generally harder, more durable, and more shrink-resistant than most TPEs — plus it is easier to print with and generally promises more accurate results.
Molding process
Since thermoplastic elastomers can be melted and reshaped without compromising the material’s chemical or mechanical properties, the scrap can even be re-used as a partial replacement for virgin plastic. Parts made from this material can be manufactured using a variety of processes, including vacuum casting, injection molding and 3D printing.TPE and TPU are available as filaments for use in FDM machines. 3D printing with TPE and TPU powders can also done through SLS machines.
Rubber and Silicone
The difference between Rubber and Silicone
Definition：Rubber is a tough elastic polymeric substance made from the latex of a tropical plant or synthetically. Silicone is a type of synthetic rubber.
Backbone structure: The backbones of most of the rubber forms contain carbon-carbon bonds. The backbone of silicone contains silicon and oxygen.
Properties: Rubber is usually less resistant to heat, chemical attacks, fungus attacks, UV and Ozone attacks. Silicone is more resistant to heat, chemical attacks, fungus attacks, UV and Ozone attacks than normal rubber.
Thermal insulation: Rubber is not much suitable due to less heat resistance. Silicone is much better than all other rubbers for thermal insulation due to its heat resistance.
Tensile and Tear properties: Organic rubbers have poor tensile and tear properties at high temperatures. These properties are excellent in silicone rubbers at the same temperature conditions.
Source: Rubber can be either natural or synthetic. Silicone is synthetic.
Molding process
Here are 3different sillicone molding processes: Compression Molding, Injection Molding and Extrusion Molding.
Comparison between TPE and Silicone
1.From processing performance perspective: Silicone needs to be molded through vulcanization, but TPE can be molded without vulcanization. Silicone is more difficult to be processed and molded, while the production and processing of TPE is simpler.
2.Silicone has an advantage over TPE in high temperature. The temperature resistance range of silicone is 200 ~ 300 ºC, while that of TPE is theoretically 130ºC ~ 150 ºC, and above that range, TPE will age and crack.
3.Prices of silicone rubber are higher than TPE. TPE has an advantage of being cheaper. Except for special TPE materials, silicon has such merits as halogen-free, flame retardant, food-grade proper, etc.
4.From cost perspective, silicone wastes cannot be recycled, whereas TPE wastes, nozzle residues and edge materials can be fully recycled and reused. Thus, TPE is more cost effective.
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