V2A

[Bob Harper]

Could you please tell me if V2A is the european designation for stainless steel? Thanks very much

[Mark Huggett]

Hi Bob

VA and V2A are old identification terms for stainless steel. The new terms are A1, A2, A3, A4 and A5, but in general, people are still familiar with the old terms. Basically, V2A = A2 and VA = A1.

A = Austenetic chrome nickel steel
1 = automatic steel with sulphur content
2 = cold steel with additional chrome and nickel alloys
3 = cold steel with additional chrome/nickel alloys, stabilised with Ti, Nb and Ta
4 = cold steel with additional chrome/nickel alloys and molybdenum alloys
5 = cold steel with additional chrome/nickel alloys and molybdenum alloys,
stabilised with Ti, Nb and Ta

A stainless steel screw would have a grade stamped on the head (according to ISO 3506) eg. “A2-70”. This means that it is a Austenetic chrome nickel cold steel with additional chrome and nickel alloys, and has a tensile strength of 700Nmm2.

Stainless steel spring steels have the designations C1; C2; C3; C4, were C = Martensistic chrome steel.

Best regards,

Mark
Mark Huggett GmbH