4340 Alloy Steel
Pennsylvania Steel Corporation offers an alternative to SAE 4340 alloy steel.
We produce FLEXOR® steel to be similar if not superior in its mechanical properties to 4340 alloy steel. Taking this into account, it is suitable and can be utilized in most of the same applications as 4340 alloy steel.
Being a proprietary grade, Pennsylvania Steel ensures that all FLEXOR® heats meet the high quality vacuum degas electric arc furnace melt process in order to ensure cleanliness, grain refinement and maximum reductions.
SAE 4340 Steel Chemistry Composition vs. FLEXOR®
| Alloy | 4340 | FLEXOR® |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon, C | .37-.43 | .32-.36 |
Manganese, Mn | .60-.80 | .60-.80 |
Phosphorous, P | .035(max) | .025(max) |
Sulfur, S | .04(max) | .025(max) |
Silicon, Si | .15-.35 | .15-.30 |
Chromium, Cr | .70-.90 | .75-1.00 |
Molybdenum, Mo | .20-.30 | .40-.60 |
Nickel, Ni | .1.65-2.00 | .25(max) |
Tungsten, W† | - | .40-.70 |
Often the limitations and inconsistencies of common 4340 alloy steel can be frustrating and may jeopardize the success of your project or application.
Typical FLEXOR® Mechanical Properties (Based upon 1.00” dia.)
| Mechanical Properties | 30 HRC | 40 HRC | 45 HRC |
|---|---|---|---|
| UTS(ksi) Per ASTM E8-04 | 147 | 183 | 225 |
| YS 0.2% offset Per ASTM E8-04 | 134 | 171 | 205 |
| V-Notch Charpy Impact Per ASTM E23-06 | 80 | 45 | 21 |
| RA% Per ASTM E8-04 | 64 | 60 | 50 |
| Elongation Per ASTME E8-04 | 21 | 18 | 12 |
| Poisson's Ratio per ASTM E111-04 | .282 | ||
| Young's Modulus per ASTM E111 | 30900 (ksi) |
4340 Steel Applications
- Automotive
- Oil and Gas Drilling
- Forging
- Warm and Cold Forming
- Performance Racing
- Powdered Metal
- Die Casting
- Machine Building
- Tool Making
- Work-holding
- Transfer Systems
Contact Pennsylvania Steel Corporation today to learn more about FLEXOR® and its advantages over 4340 alloy steel.
FLEXOR® Properties
FLEXOR®'s dependable quality and adaptability in heat treatment allows for a wide range of physical properties that are more appealing than those of typical ASTM, AISI or SAE 4340 alloy steel.
FLEXOR® has a comparable core hardness which typically means a more uniform hardness through any cross section. The more uniform the hardness along with a fine grain microstructure yields a higher fatigue and tensile strength for difficult applications. FLEXOR® has an added benefit over 4340 alloy steel. Unlike the Nickel based 4340 FLEXOR® does not have to worry about the work hardening that often takes place during machining with Nickel based steels. Please compare total percentage of Alloy above.
FLEXOR® Sizes & Conditions
FLEXOR® steel is available in a variety of sizes and conditions. These include, but are not limited to:
- Decarb free alloys
- Hot rolled flats
- Hot rolled rounds
- Hot rolled plates
- Peeled steel bars
- Turned forged rounds and billet
- Ground and polished rounds
Testimonials
"At Powerhold we use FLEXOR® exclusively on all our special design work-holding Diaphragms. The performance and machining quality of FLEXOR® is superior to anything we have utilized in the past.
Today’s customer demands a quality product that performs consistently...FLEXOR® enables us to meet that goal every day."
Testimonials
"Just wanted to take a minute to say thanks. I always receive my orders on time and without any complications. I appreciate you keeping me so up to date on the order process through email, and the way the steel is cut and packaged so carefully. Using your Product (FLEXOR®) has increased standard tool life by as much as 25%-30%. Thank you again for all you hard work. I look forward to business with you again and again, it's always a pleasure!"
Testimonials
"Pennyslvania Steel Corporation has been a valued supplier for our company going on two decades. FLEXOR®'S versatility and reliability have been extremely helpful to the products we manufacture. Due to to FLEXOR®'S versatility at various hardness' we are able to use it at 28-32 HRC, 28-32 HRC and nitrided, or through hardened anywhere between 42 and 50 HRC. In our experience FLEXOR® has superior machinability to other comparable steel grades especially in higher hardness'. We machine FLEXOR® at 40 HRC and find this to be a key benefit to our manufacturing process."
†As an ongoing effort to improve and refine the FLEXOR® chemistry and mechanical properties, PSC is introducing Vanadium (V) as a carbide forming element to help in this effort.