Even if the benefits of stainless steel and carbon steel are almost the same, they have specific characteristics or differences that makes them very ideal for certain engineering applications. To make sure that you are getting the proper material for the application that you desire, it is very important to have a firm understanding of the similarities and key differences of carbon and stainless steel.

Before we dive in to this article, remember that when carbon steel and stainless steel are mentioned, we are pertaining to several kinds of materials. In this article, we will only talk about the most widely-used types for each one.

Composition of each metal

The majority of the steels are primarily composed of carbon and iron. In some steels being used to manufacture electronics enclosure, the additional elements create a unique and very useful properties. By being able to have a control and change the elemental composition of each steel, the steelmakers can have a huge and wide variety of stainless steel that is suitable for several purposes.

Difference in composition

The key metal requirements/ingredients for stainless steel are chromium, nickel and molybdenum. Ideally, stainless steel should be able to contain at least 10.5 chromium my its composition. However, in majority of applications, the chromium content is very much higher. Several varieties of stainless steel also have steel properties of nickel and molybdenum to be able to give the additional, desirable properties.

Carbon steel means it has any steel composition whose primary ingredients are iron and carbon. The carbon content in carbon steel can have a varying range. It can go from 0.05 percent to three percent. The 0.05 is considered to be mild or low-carbon steel. And the highest is ultra high-carbon steels.

Cost of metals

The cost in creating stainless steel can greatly vary according to what you are buying. The composition of steel being used in electrical enclosure has several factors. In general sense, the stainless steel tends to cost more than the mild or medium carbon steel.

For very high-carbon steel, however this can be comparable or even greater in cost when it comes to stainless steel. Since there are several factors that can play in determining how much the company will pay for the steel, the best way to determine and identify the specific performance factors is to determine and investigate your options and the cost that they come with.