Bright Steel Round Bar
Bright Steel Round Bar, also known as 'Bright Steel Rod,' is available to buy from our comprehensive range of mild steel products. This bright steel bar is a popular material in general engineering projects. With a high iron composition, it's an inexpensive material in comparison to stainless steel, yet still has some advantageous properties. Mild steel bright round bars have good machinability, formability and weldability.
At Aluminium Warehouse our bright steel bar is supplied in Grade EN3B. This is a general purpose engineering steel. Suitable for a multitude of applications in construction, fabrication and decorative industries. EN3B works well also in mechanical parts, particularly lightly stressed components such as shaft, bolts or gears.
We do not recommend it for applications where heavy stresses and heat treatment are involved. Bright steel has poor corrosion resistance and poor hardenability, however we supply alternative steel products if these are an important factor.
What's the difference between Mild Steel and Bright Steel?
Bright steel rods are produced differently to mild steel and as a result they have better tolerance levels, surface finish and shape.
Hot rolling is the process for producing mild steel. Initially, the steel billet is heated to a high temperature and, in the case of steel bar, drawn (not rolled) to a particular shape, then cooled down. During the cooling down, the steel may shrink. There is a little control over the end product and therefore both size and shape could be affected. Hot rolled steel is still an effective material and is both easier and cheaper to make. However, it may not be suitable if shape and tolerance is important.
Cold rolled steel is heated, cooled to room temperature and then 'rolled' again. The 'rolled' process could also include another method of further production eg. shot blasting, turning, press-braking or drawing.
The secondary production technique transforms the mild steel into a bright steel with a smoother and shinier finish, a more accurate shape, tighter dimensional tolerances, concentric uniformity and straightness.
Our mild steel bright bars are available in 3 difference profiles; bright round bar, bright flat bar and bright square bar.
What grade of steel is bright bar?
EN3B steel is a bright drawn mild steel for low stress engineering applications such as:
- Rollers & shafts
- Machinery parts
- Spindles & axles
- Threaded bars
- Low stress engineering applications