Differentiate stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 201

No. 456, Route 1K, Dong Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

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First, we have a preliminary understanding of the chemical composition of stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 201 as follows:

Steel Marks

Carbon

(C)

Manganese

(Mn)

Phosphorus

(P)

Sulfur

(S)

Silicon

(Si)

Chrome

(Cr)

Nickel

(Ni)

Molybdenum

(Mo)

Other elements

201

0.15 Max

5.5 – 7.5

0.06

0.03

1.0

16.0-18.0

3.5 – 5.5

0

N 0.25

304

0.08 Max

2.0

0.045

0.03

1.0

17.0 -19.0

8.0 – 10.0

0

Chromium (Cr) is the element that gives the material the best corrosion resistance. Nickel (Ni) is known as the key element that gives stainless steel excellent machinability and stability. The higher content of Nickel & Chromium in the composition makes the price of 304 stainless steel 22% - 32% higher than 201 stainless steel .

The following are some methods to determine stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 201:

1. Based on CO & CQ

CO is a certificate of origin & CQ is a certificate of product quality. Usually, only these two certificates can prove that the product quality is stainless steel 201 or 304.

2. Test at test center

This method gives 100% accurate results, but the testing time is quite long and the cost to check is quite high.

3. Seen with the naked eye

304 stainless steel is bright but slightly opaque while 201 stainless steel has a much stronger shiny appearance. However, this difference is too small to be easily discerned by the naked eye.

4. By grinding spark

Using a hand grinder to grind into the product, looking through the sparks will see that 304 stainless steel has dark red sparks and less beam while 201 stainless steel will shoot bright sparks and thicker beams. However, this method is not very accurate and depends a lot on the experience of each person, this method is only used for professional workers.

5. Use magnets

304 stainless steel does not attract magnets while 201 stainless steel slightly attracts magnets.

Attention: It is not recommended to use magnets to distinguish stainless steel types when the product has been formed because when processing and shaping angular stainless steel products, it will automatically generate magnetism, so using a magnet will no longer be the same as the original .

6. Use acid test

This is also the most common way, giving very high accuracy results, the cheapest test cost currently.

How to do: Prepare a piece of 304 stainless steel and a piece of 201 stainless steel and 1 small jar of acid. Put a drop of acid on the surface of two pieces of stainless steel, leave it and wait for 10 seconds, and observe the surface of the two pieces of stainless steel.

Result:

When using specialized stainless steel reagents, 304 stainless steel is blue and 201 stainless steel will be brick red .

Any piece of stainless steel that foams and changes to brick red is stainless steel 201. Any piece of stainless steel that does not react, where the acid is gray in color, it is 304 stainless steel.

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Differentiate stainless steel 304 and stainless steel 201

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