Carbon Steel—An Affordable Substitute for Stainless In Electroless Nickel (EN) Plating

The cost of stainless steel has been increasing significantly causing platers and their customers to look for alternative metals. There are many circumstances where EN on carbon steel is an excellent substitute for stainless steel. High phosphorous electroless nickel provides excellent corrosion protection in a strong acid environment. HCl at 10% concentration will cause a corrosion rate of approximately 20-50 mils per year on carbon steel plated with mid-phosphorous EN. That rate is reduced to less than 1 mil per year when the phosphorous level exceeds 10.5%. In contrast, mid-phosphorous EN performs more effectively in a high pH environment than the high phosphorous EN. In many circumstance the consumer can save money on both the cost of the materials and machine tools.

EN plated carbon steel is not always an appropriate stainless steel alternative. The various SS alloys have many outstanding properties and many cannot be replaced with a carbon steel plated substitute.

Stainless steel is essentially a low carbon steel which contains chromium at 10% or more by weight. It is this addition of chromium that gives the steel its unique stainless, corrosion resisting properties. Resistance to corrosion, heat and other industry concerns including strength to weight ratio and ease of fabrication, make it a popular choice.

According to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), steel is considered to be carbon steel when no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt, columbium [niobium], molybdenum, nickel, titanium, tungsten, vanadium or zirconium or any other element to be added to obtain a desired alloying effect; when the specified minimum for copper does not exceed 0.40 per cent; or when the maximum content specified for any of the following elements does not exceed the percentages noted: manganese 1.65, silicon 0.60, copper 0.60.

Contact AST for assistance in determining if EN plated steel may be considered as a substitute for SS.