Stainless steels

About the material

Stainless steels are among the most important materials in modern industry – especially when corrosion resistance, durability and aesthetic quality are required. According to European standards, steel must contain at least 10.5% chromium and less than 1.2% carbon to be considered “stainless”. The standard distinguishes between two common names:

  • Symbolic designation: begins with “X,” followed by the carbon content x100, then the alloying elements in descending order of content (e.g. X46Cr13).
  • Numerical designation: based on the previous DIN standard, begins with “1.4” and comprises five digits (e.g. 1.4034), with the third digit identifying the steel grade family.
Ferritic stainless steels

Ferritic grades consist predominantly of iron and chromium, sometimes supplemented by molybdenum. Their chromium content is between 10.5 and 28%, while the carbon content remains below 0.08%. They contain no nickel and can only be hardened by cold forming. Ferritic steels offer solid corrosion resistance, are magnetic and particularly cost-effective.

Martensitic & precipitation-hardened stainless steels

These stainless steels generally contain 12-19% chromium and may also contain nickel, molybdenum or other elements. They combine good corrosion resistance with high strength – comparable to non-stainless tool steels. These properties result from targeted heat treatments such as quenching and tempering (martensitic) or quenching and precipitation hardening.

An example of a widely used material in this area is 1.4034 / X46Cr13, which is particularly well suited to precision components.

Austenitic stainless steels

Austenitic steels are the most commonly used group. They typically contain around 17% chromium and nickel to stabilize the austenitic microstructure. This structure is key to the high corrosion resistance, as it prevents the formation of second phases such as ferrite or martensite.

Additives such as molybdenum, titanium or niobium specifically improve resistance to chlorides, sulphuric acid and organic acids. A prominent example is the material 1.4435 / 316 L / X2CrNiMo18-14-3, which is ideally suited to applications in the watchmaking industry, medical technology and precision engineering due to its purity and outstanding corrosion resistance.

The mechanical strength of austenitic steels is average under normal conditions, but can be significantly increased by targeted cold rolling. In particular, the material 1.4310 / X10CrNi18-8 is used in applications where increased elasticity or restoring force is required – for example, for springs and snap discs. An additional tempering treatment at 380-420 °C can increase the tensile strength to 80-250 N/mm². Various variants are available on the market to meet special requirements in terms of fatigue resistance and hardness.

Jacques Allemann offers a targeted selection of high-quality stainless steels – tailored to applications with the highest demands in terms of precision, corrosion behaviour and formability.

Stainless steels

Description Techsheet
1.4005 - Martensitic stainless steel / X12CrS13 / AISI 416 MOD jas-022-tech-sheet-1.4005.pdf PDF
1.4006 - Martensitic stainless steel / X12Cr13 / AIS 410 / Z10C13
1.4016 - Ferritic stainless steel / X6Cr17 / AISI 430 / Z8C17
1.4021 - Martensitic stainless steel / X20Cr13 / AISI 420 / Z20C13
1.4034 - Martensitic stainless steel / X46Cr13 / AISI 420 / Z44C14 jas-023-tech-sheet-1.4034.pdf PDF
1.4034+S - Martensitic stainless steel / X46Cr13 / AISI 420 / Z44C14
1.4035 - Martensitic stainless steel / X46CrS13 / AISI 420F / Z44C14 jas-024-tech-sheet-1.4035.pdf PDF
1.4057 - Martensitic stainless steel / X17CrNi16-2 / AISI 431 / Z15CN16-02
1.4104 - Martensitic stainless steel / X14CrMoS17 / AISI 430F / Z13CF17 jas-025-tech-sheet-1.4104.pdf PDF
1.4112 - Martensitic stainless steel / X90CrMoV18 / AISI 440B jas-026-tech-sheet-1.4112.pdf PDF
1.4123 - Martensitic stainless steel / X40CrMoVN16-2 / AISI F899 / X40CrMoVN16.02
1.4125 - Martensitic stainless steel / X105CrMo17 / AISI 440C / Z100CD17 jas-027-tech-sheet-1.4125.pdf PDF
1.4197 - Martensitic stainless steel / Sandvik 4C27A / AISI 420F jas-028-tech-sheet-1.4197.pdf PDF
1.4301 - Austenitic stainless steel / X5CrNi18-10 / AISI 304 / Z6CN18-09 jas-029-tech-sheet-1.4301.pdf PDF
1.4305 - Austenitic stainless steel / X8CrNiS18-9 / AISI 303 / Z8CNF18-09
1.4306 - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNi19-11 / AISI 304L / Z3CN18-10
1.4307 - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNi18-9 / AISI 304L / Z3CN19-09 jas-030-tech-sheet-1.4307.pdf PDF
1.4310 - Austenitic stainless steel / X10CrNi18-8 / AISI 302 / Z12CN18-09 jas-031-tech-sheet-1.4310.pdf PDF
1.4310Mo - Austenitic stainless steel / X10CrNi18-8 / AISI 301/302 / Z12CN17-07 jas-033-tech-sheet-1.4310Mo.pdf PDF
1.4369 - Austenitic stainless steel / X11CrNiMnN19-8-6
1.4401 - Austenitic stainless steel / X5CrNiMo17-12-2
1.4404 - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNiMo17-12-2 / AISI 316L / Z2CND17-12
1.4404+S+CU - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNiMo17-12-2 / AISI 316L / Z2CND17-12
1.4427SO - Austenitic stainless steel / X12CrNiNoS18-11-2 / AISI 316L(+S) / Z3CNDF17-13
1.4435 - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNiMo18-14-3 / AISI 316L / Z6CND17-12-03
1.4441 - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNiMo18-15-3 / AISI LVM jas-021-tech-sheet-1.4441.pdf PDF
1.4441 MED - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNiMo18-15-3 / AISI 316LVM
1.4452 - Austenitic stainless steel / X13CrMnMoN18-14-3 / P2000 jas-018-tech-sheet-1.4452.pdf PDF
1.4539 - Austenitic stainless steel / X1NiCrMoCu25-20-5 / AISI 904L
1.4541 - Austenitic stainless steel / X6CrNiTi18-10 / AISI 630 / Z6CNT18-10 jas-023-tech-sheet-1.4034.pdf PDF
1.4542 - Austenitic stainless steel / X5CrNiCuNb16-4 / AISI 630 / age-hardenable Z7CNU15-05
1.4567 - Austenitic stainless steel / X3CrNiCu18-9-4 / AISI 304CU / Z3CNU18-10
1.4568 - Austenitic stainless steel / X7CrNiAI17-7 / AISI F899 / age-hardenable
1.4570 - Austenitic stainless steel / X6CrNiCuS18-9-2 / AISI 303 Cu
1.4571 - Austenitic stainless steel / X6CrNiMoTi17-12-2 / AISI 316Ti
1.4598 - Austenitic stainless steel / X2CrNiMo17-10-2+S+Cu / Z3CND17-11-02 jas-032-tech-sheet-1.4598.pdf PDF
1.4841 - Austenitic stainless steel / X15CrNiSi25-21 / AISI 314
1.4845 - Austenitic stainless steel / X15CrNi25-21 / AISI 310S
304V - Austenitic stainless steel
Nitronic 60 - Austenitic stainless steel
P558JA - Austenitic nickel-free stainless steel
P570 - Austenitic nickel-free stainless steel

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