Most products in our range of stainless steel wire and stainless steel mesh products are offered in two grades – 304 and 316. The choice of grade is determined by the application and environment.
Both grades are termed “18-8” stainless steel, as they have approximately 18% chromium and 8% nickel in their composition. 18-8 stainless steels are non-magnetic and cannot be hardened by heat treatment.
The actual compositions of 304 and 316 grades are:
304 stainless steel wire
| C | Si | Mn | P | S | Ni | Cr |
| ≤0.07 | ≤1.00 | ≤2.00 | ≤0.035 | ≤0.03 | 8.00-11.00 | 17.00-19.00 |
316 stainless steel wire
| C | Si | Mn | P | S | Ni | Cr | Mo |
| ≤0.08 | ≤1.00 | ≤2.00 | ≤0.035 | ≤0.03 | 10.00-14.00 | 16.00-18.50 | 2.00-3.00 |
