China's Fastener Steel Use Hit 12.5Mt in 2023

Fasteners, bearings, gears, springs, and dies are fundamental components in machinery manufacturing, directly affecting the quality and reliability of machinery. Steel materials are the material basis for the production of these components. Currently, the annual output of steel for basic components in China is about 24 million tons, making it a widely used special steel product. The service environments for fasteners, bearings, gears, springs, and dies vary, and so do the quality requirements for the materials. It can be said that the quality of steel used in these fundamental components determines the level of machinery manufacturing and also represents the characteristics and level of the overall development of special steels.

Fasteners are known as the "grains of industry" and are the most widely used basic components. In 2023, the steel consumption for fasteners in China reached 12.5 million tons. Fasteners are made from almost all types of steel, mainly including cold heading steel, alloy structural steel, stainless steel, heat-resistant steel, etc., with standard strength levels ranging from 400 to 1200 MPa. Fasteners are typically manufactured using the cold heading process, which requires the steel to have good cold heading properties. Depending on the application scenario, the steel for fasteners also needs to possess properties such as resistance to fatigue failure, delayed fracture, corrosion, high temperature, and low temperature.

The low-cost competition of fasteners has led to a large-scale substitution of MnB steel for CrMo steel. Currently, the highest grade for fasteners in Chinese standards (GB/T 3098.1-2010) is 12.9, while the lightweighting of machinery requires high-strength fasteners of 14.9 and above. In addition to solving production process issues, attention must also be paid to problems such as delayed fracture and fatigue failure.