Stainless Steel
Compare austenitic, ferritic, martensitic, duplex and precipitation-hardening families before moving to a grade or product specification.
Explore familyGlobal metal encyclopedia
Metal materials
Explore six commercially important material systems through 35 technically researched subcategories. Start with metallurgy or coating process, then move into grades, product forms, applications, standards and procurement requirements.
01 — Materials
Six material families and commercial systems
Carbon & Structural Steel
Separate general carbon grades from structural, pressure-vessel, shipbuilding and pipeline specifications before comparing strength or price.
- Low-carbon steel
- Medium/high-carbon
- Structural and HSLA
- Pressure vessel steel
- Shipbuilding steel
- Pipeline steel
Alloy & Engineering Steel
Select the alloy system together with section size, cleanliness, product route and final heat treatment.
Explore familyAluminum & Aluminum Alloys
Navigate 1xxx through 8xxx wrought series, then verify the exact registered alloy, temper and product specification.
- 1xxx Commercially Pure
- 2xxx-Copper
- 3xxx-Manganese
- 5xxx-Magnesium
- 6xxx-Magnesium-Silicon
- 7xxx-Zinc
- 8xxx Special-Purpose
Copper & Copper Alloys
Use UNS families to separate conductivity, machinability, spring, wear, marine and high-strength systems.
- Pure & High-Copper Alloys
- Brass
- Phosphor & Tin Bronze
- Aluminum & Silicon Bronze
- Copper-Nickel
- High-Strength & High-Conductivity Copper
Galvanized & Coated Steel
Choose the coating process first, then specify substrate, coating designation, surface treatment, fabrication and exposure.
- Batch Hot-Dip Galvanized Steel
- Continuous Galvanized Steel
- 55% Al-Zn / Aluzinc Coated Steel
- Electrogalvanized Steel
- PPGI — Prepainted Galvanized Steel
- PPGL — Prepainted Al-Zn Coated Steel
02 — 35
Browse the complete classification
Every published child page explains its boundary, representative grades, performance trade-offs, processing risks and the information a buyer should place in an RFQ.