316 stainless steel is typically ranked second amongst austenitic alloys in importance, only being beat out by 304 stainless steel. Read More…
Leading Manufacturers
Source 21, Inc.
Sound Beach, NY | 631-821-1101We provide the best products in the stainless steel industry. Our customers know they can trust us for quality, affordability, and convenience. Our multiple locations make it easy to get what you need within days!
Cada Stainless & Alloys
Chester, NY | 845-469-3899Cada Stainless is a distributor of stainless steel in strip, coil & sheet. All grades of stainless steel available- annealed, tempered in 301,302,304,316, straight and L grades, 17/4, 17/7, 420,430,440, temper rolling to specific thicknesses & tolerances available.
Metal Associates
Pompton Plains, NJ | 800-838-1978Our company may have started small, but we quickly grew to handle the largest aluminum orders. Our metals are made from the highest quality materials, and we pledge to offer superior service to all our customers. We don’t want customers who use us one time, we want to establish lifelong relationships with customers that last generations. Contact us for more info!
Metalmen Sales Inc.
Long Island City, NY | 800-767-9494Metalmen provides worldwide distribution of all stainless steel. With our wide range of products, we offer expert market advice and complete metalworking as a custom response supplier serving industry.
Michlin Metals Inc.
Northbrook, IL | 847-272-3240While priding ourselves on our status as a woman-owned business, we also put that pride right into the products we manufacture. We not only carry hard-to-find materials like Monel and Kovar, we also specialize in the basics: stainless steel, aluminum, aircraft alloys, and more. We are an ISO 9001 and AS9120 certified company, with DFARS compliant material, and we keep our high-quality products competitively-priced.
Lester Metals LLC
Avon Lake, OH | 800-679-3659We specialize in aluminum, copper, stainless, nickel, and other specialty metals. If your needs are for engineered close tolerance foil, coil, strip, sheet or fabricated metals, Lester Metals offers a unique combination of advanced materials, diverse technical skills, and industry knowledge to provide the metal you need when you need it.
316 Stainless Steel - Source 21, Inc.As the standard molybdenum-bearing grade, the molybdenum alloy provides 316 stainless steel with corrosion-resistant properties such as a high resistance to pitting and crevice corrosion in chlorine-contaminated media.
Common applications of 316 stainless steel include laboratory equipment, food preparation equipment, heat exchangers, chemical containers, boat fittings, welded screens and architectural trim. Although it is deemed the marine grade of stainless steel, 316 stainless steel is also utilized in industries such as medical, manufacturing, automotive, aerospace, construction, electronics, defense and petro-chemical.
Additional advantages of 316 stainless steel are high tensile strength and the ability to maintain mechanical integrity at both extremely high and extremely low temperatures. Possible alternative grades to 316 stainless steel include 904L, 2205, 317L, 316N and 316Ti, which offer similar properties as well as providing increased tensile strength or corrosion resistance depending on the grade.
The 300 level grades of stainless steel are very similar to the 200 level, except for slightly high levels of chromium and nickel, which make them slightly less attack-resistant. A non-magnetic grade of stainless steel, 316 stainless steel specifically contains 16% chromium, 10% nickel and 2% molybdenum. Usually sold in the annealed, or softened condition, 316 stainless steel can be hardened by cold working but not through heat treatment due to the high carbon content.
A version of 316 stainless steel with a much lower carbon content is available, referred to as 316L stainless steel. L-grades of stainless steel have a .03% carbon content maximum, allowing for increased resistance to sensitization from heat treatments. However, 316L stainless steel also cannot be hardened by heat treatment, but through cold working.
Instead, the resistance to sensitization makes 316L stainless steel incredibly useful in heavy gauge welded components due to its increased creep, stress-to-rupture and tensile strength at high temperatures. In addition, 316L stainless steel is much easier to machine than 316 stainless steel due to its decreased carbon content. Overall, both 316 stainless steel and 316L stainless steel offer excellent toughness due to their austenitic structure.