Are there any differences between materials, if they all fulfill the UNS and EN standards?
The UNS and EN standards for chemical composition are quite wide in terms of tolerances for existing alloys. This means that there are many manufacturers of stainless steel that can produce material to these standards. If the goal for the producer is only to make the cheapest material, variances in alloying elements and batches can be kept high, but still, fulfill the standards. However, the material will behave inconsistently batch to batch.
This will affect both the machinability and weldability of the material. And in the end, productivity in the production process. Finally, the cents saved at material purchase will be lost by time spent in setting-up the material and machining. Which is where the highest fixed costs lie. To be successful the total production cost of the component should always be the focus in the manufacturing process.
The first thing our customers point out when machining our Sanmac® materials is our batch to batch consistency. We keep far tighter tolerances than those required by the UNS and EN standards and are able to repeat the same composition with each batch produced.
Also, we have fully integrated production, meaning we control manufacture from the melt to the finished product. We use that capability to optimize every production step, for every product made. Our reputation in producing stainless and duplex stainless steels speaks for itself. The consistency and quality of our stainless steel products is no coincidence, but the result of dedicated day to day engineering, with our customer’s best interests in focus.