Maraging steel is a low carbon, nickel-rich alloy based on martensite steel and exposed to a prolonged heat treatment process. It possesses good strength, malleability, welding, quenching, and machining characteristics. It is widely used to produce weight-sensitive and high-stress parts, including missile and rocket shells and automatic weapons components. The inclusion of chromium allows for the production of highly corrosion-resistant stainless varieties of the alloy.
Maraging steel is a low carbon, nickel rich alloy that exhibits good strength and machining characteristics without sacrificing malleability. The alloy is based on martensite steel and is exposed to a prolonged heat treatment process known as aging, the name of which is a combination of the two terms. In addition to its high strength, maraging steel also possesses good welding, quenching and machining characteristics and exhibits robust dimensional stability when heat treated. Stainless or corrosion-resistant alloy qualities with the addition of chromium are also possible. Due to its good malleability and strength, maraging steel is widely used to produce weight-sensitive and high-stress parts, including missile and rocket shells and automatic weapons components.
Steel is an iron-based alloy with the addition of various alloying metals, the most common of which is carbon. High carbon steels are widely used alloys that exhibit high strength and hardness, but sacrifice malleability, or the ability to be bent and formed without breaking. Maraging steel is a low carbon alloy based on martensite steel, with nickel as the major alloying component. Additionally, the alloy is also exposed to a lengthy heat treatment process and the addition of secondary alloying agents which include cobalt, titanium and molybdenum. The resulting alloy is exceptionally strong and possesses desirable working qualities with good residual malleability.
The processing characteristics of maraging steel, together with its robustness, make this alloy particularly useful from a production point of view. Before maraging steel is aged or heat treated, it can be cold rolled to a significant extent without cracking, and can also be nitrided or carburised. The alloy is also easy to machine and very stable when heat treated, exhibiting very little thermally induced dimensional change. This allows parts to be machined to their final dimensions prior to quenching. The inclusion of chromium in the alloy also allows for the production of highly corrosion resistant stainless varieties of the alloy.
The high strength and flexibility of maraging steel makes it an ideal material for making ballistic missile and rocket projectiles or skins. It also lends itself well to the fabrication of high-stress parts exposed to rapid thermal cycling such as firing pins in automatic weapons. The strength and malleability of the alloy also make it a staple in the manufacture of fencing blades. Maraging steel is an ideal material for manufacturing engine components such as crankshafts due to its inherent toughness. Stainless varieties of the alloy are commonly used to make golf club heads, bicycle frames, and even hypodermic needles.
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