Spring Materials — Stainless, 17-7PH, Elgiloy and Inconel
The spring wire grades we work with, and what to expect on availability, lead time and documentation for each family.
Material choice usually decides whether a spring survives its application, and it usually decides the lead time as well. Here is how we think about the families we are asked for most.
Stainless steels
301 and 302 are the workhorses for general purpose springs where corrosion resistance has to be better than carbon steel but the part still needs to carry load. 304 is the common choice where the environment is more aggressive but load requirements are moderate. 316 is specified when chlorides or marine exposure are in play.
Precipitation hardening: 17-7PH
17-7PH is specified where a spring has to keep its set at elevated temperature or where higher strength is needed without losing corrosion resistance. It behaves differently from austenitic grades during forming, so send the drawing early and we will confirm the spring-back allowance we plan to use.
Cobalt alloys: Elgiloy
Elgiloy appears in applications where fatigue life and corrosion resistance both matter. Availability is the constraint rather than manufacturability — expect the wire lead time to dominate the quotation.
Nickel alloys: Inconel
Inconel grades turn up in elevated temperature and highly corrosive service. These are made to order, so quantity and grade drive both price and schedule.
Documentation
Whichever family you specify, we issue a material certificate with the shipment. If your quality system needs traceability back to the heat, say so at the quotation stage and we will confirm what the mill can supply before you commit.
Request a quote
Send your drawing or specification and we will come back with pricing and lead time. If you do not have a drawing, describe the application and we will work from that.