The selection of material may be a success or the bane of the project in the world of engineering and manufacturing. EN24T steel has been popular in applications where the product needs high strength, toughness and displays very good wear resistance properties. EN24T is a very strong steel and is said to be a very versatile metal, and is used in most industries such as automotive, aerospace, oil and gas and heavy engineering industries.
So what is EN24T steel and why is it such a popular metal with engineers and machinists in the UK and world over?
What is EN24T Steel?
EN24T is an alloy steel having high strength, which has the official designation of 817M40T in the British Standards (BS 970). The designation of EUROPEAN NORM (EN) makes their name to be used, and that in the suffix ‘T’, means that the material is to be supplied in the heat-treated condition or tempered condition, namely, quenched and tempered state to obtain its required mechanical properties.
The nickel, chromium and molybdenum in EN24T are in an optimum combination that endows it with high strength, excellent toughness and good shock and wear resistance. Its average chemical analysis is about 0.40% of carbon, 1.5% of nickel, 0.6% of chromium and 0.25 % of molybdenum with some traces of manganese, silicon and sulphur.
Key Properties of EN24T:
The popularity of EN24T stems from its impressive balance of mechanical properties. These include:
- High Tensile Strength: This is between 850 to 1000 N/mm2, and this is why it should be used in highly stressed parts.
- Excellent Toughness: EN24T does not lose its structure even when under impact loading.
- Good Wear Resistance: It is suitable in processes where abrasion and contact wear are a risk.
- Machinable: It is considered a high-strength material, but is machinable using the standard power tooling when the correct tooling is applied.
- Good Fatigue Strength: Has the strength to resist cyclic loading conditions and thus can be used in shafts and rotating applications.
- Hardening Capability: EN24T can further be hardened on the surface by induction or nitriding.
Common Applications of EN24T:
Due to its mechanical robustness, EN24T is widely specified in applications where lesser steels would fail under stress or wear. Some of its most common applications include:
- High-Performance shafts: crankshafts, camshafts and gearbox shafts.
- Gear and Pinions: Particularly, heavy-duty machine types.
- Bolts and Studs: In case of important load-bearing constructs.
- Hydraulic and Pneumatic Parts: In case of high-pressure opposition.
- Moulds and Dies: Heavy forming and plastic injection Moulds.
- Aerospace Components: Under conditions where the strength-to-weight ratio is very important.
EN24T vs Other Alloy Steels:
The EN24T is usually contrasted with other engineering steels like EN8, EN19 and EN36. Although EN8 can be well-suited as a general-purpose medium carbon steel, it is not as strong or tough as EN24T. EN19, however, is essentially the same as far as composition is concerned, but does not attain equal levels of tensile strength when tempered. EN36 has a reputation for being a case-hardening steel; however, when high tensile strength has to be achieved through hardening, EN24T is still the best choice.
Machining and Heat Treatment of EN24T:
Considerations should be made on machining EN24T since it is strong and tough. Carbide or cobalt tooling and controlled cutting speed can be used to attain efficient machining processes. Work hardening is to be avoided, and hence adequate cooling and lubrication are necessary to keep dimensions accurate.
The primary technique that is used in the acquisition of targeted properties of EN24T is a heat treatment. It may be furnished in a quenched and tempered or a further treated condition, depending upon the requirements. Induction to harden any of the surfaces that are prone to wear, and nitriding of surfaces to increase the hardness of the surface without altering the core tough power are some examples of this.
Availability in the UK Market:
EN24T is a steel grade that is available easily in the United Kingdom in some well-known steel stockists and suppliers. It is normally provided in different forms such as the round bars, flat bars, billets and in cut-to-size forms. Stockists sometimes also offer extra services like precision cutting, testing, certification to achieve, e.g. industry standard of cut such as BS EN 10204 3.1 or 3.2.
Since it is popular, the lead time on EN24T tends to be short; therefore is a feasible alternative should a project need a quick turnaround.
Conclusion:
EN24T has managed to become one of the most reliable high-strength alloy steels in the engineering industry. It has been identified with a very wide range of tensile strength, toughness and wear resistance, and this reason makes its application suitable for some of the worst applications in industries. It might be a vitally important shaft in a gearbox or a heavy load pinion in a mechanised piece of equipment – it makes no difference to EN24T, still provides the reliability where it counts.
