Do You Know The Difference Between Stainless Steel Flat Bar & Sheared And Edged？

304L and 316L stainless steel flat bar is the most common grades, there are two main production ways, including sheared and edged bar, and true flat bar. Do you know the difference between stainless steel flat bar & sheared and edged?

For a true stainless steel flat bar, which is generally produced at the mill in the HRAP (Hot Rolled Annealed and Pickled) form to the specific size indicated. In some rare instances, it also can be produced in a cold drawn finish, resulting in a shinier surface and even closer dimensional tolerances. The four sides' finish of a true stainless steel flat bar is virtually identical, the corners are relatively square, and the and the tolerances are reasonably close to the actual dimension listed -usually within just a few thousandths of an inch.

However, the sheared and edged bar is cut and processed from stainless steel plate, though it is flattened and straightened in the process, sheared and edged bar is not as dimensional “rue”  as true flat bar, and theedges are milled and have a slightly different finish from the flat sides. Despite this, it remains an extremely viable and much less expensive alternative to true flat bar.

Which option should you choose to use? Because theconsiderable price difference, the vast majority of stainless steel flat bar sold today is sheared and edged. Even forarchitectural purposes, where the material needs to be polished to create consistency of the finish on all four sides, sheared and trimmed bar can still be polished to the same effect with today's polishing techniques, replacing true flat bar. But note that there are differences in the ASTM specifications between the two bar types, and that should be taken into consideration when ordering for specific jobs. If you have any questions on which type would be appropriate for your project, contact Ronsco and we’ll be happy to assist you.