302 Stainless Steel Balls

Type 302 Stainless Steel balls are the most widely used of any unhardened stainless steel. It is the least expensive of any 300 series material. This material is often referred to as 18-8 stainless steel because it has 18% chromium and 8% nickel. The corrosion resistance of this material is much better than the hardened types such as 416, 420 or 440C. It is widely used in the food, fruit and meat processing industries. It stands up well in coffee, all forms of milk; and it is used in breweries. It tends to be pitted by sea water, acetic acids, phosphoric acids; and it is attacked by sulfurous acids.

Quality: Because this material is so soft, it is difficult and expensive to maintain the very close tolerances usually associated with precision bearing balls. The finest quality normally available in this material is A.F.B.M.A. grade 100. Custom made orders can be made to much finer tolerances.
Hardness: In the annealed condition this material is approximately 30 HRC. It is generally referred to as a soft or unhardened stainless steel.
Density: of this material is .286 pounds per cubic inch. ( 7.916 gr/cc )
Machinability: is rated as good, but it should be remembered that this material is tough. It can be machined, drilled and tapped with moderate difficulty.
Weldability: is rated as good, but it should be remembered that this material has a high rate of expansion when heated (10x10^-6 inch/degree F). The fastest method of welding will cause the least distortion. It is a very poor conductor of heat and has a low melting temperature (2550° F).
Magnetic: In the annealed condition this material is almost non-magnetic. in the cold worked condition it can be attracted by a magnet.
Electrical Resistance: is very high.

See our available inventory of 302 stainless steel balls in our on-line shopping cart. If we don't have your desired ball in stock, we can make it. In general, the setup charge for a grade 100 ball is $70.00.

Chemical Analysis
Carbon	0.15% Max.
Manganese	2.0% Max.
Silicon	1.0 % Max.
Chromium	17.00-19.00%
Nickel	8.00-10.00%
Ferrite	Balance