With the increasing maturity of domestic steelmaking technology, the total use of stainless steel is growing exponentially, and the insulated cups we use in our daily lives are made of stainless steel. But do you know what material you are using? There are currently two types of food grade stainless steel on the market: 304 stainless steel and 316 stainless steel. Which is better, 304 stainless steel or 316 stainless steel? Please refer to the detailed explanation provided by the editor.

According to the nickel content data, the nickel content of 304 is less than that of 316. In theory, the higher the nickel content, the better the corrosion resistance of the material itself. However, the current price of nickel alloys is relatively expensive, so the price of nickel is basically the main factor affecting the price of stainless steel. This is the law of the entire market, so each model will have specific product standards.

In the industry, the content of alloying elements in materials is usually used to determine whether a product is qualified. For example, 304 stainless steel is generally considered qualified as long as its nickel content is greater than 8% and chromium content is greater than 18%. Therefore, 304 stainless steel is also known as "18/8 stainless steel".

Compared with 304 stainless steel, 316 stainless steel has significantly added molybdenum element, which can effectively improve the corrosion resistance and high temperature resistance of 316 stainless steel. It can be said that 316 can do what 304 can do, and 316 can do what 304 cannot do. Simply put, 316 stainless steel is actually an enhanced version of 304 stainless steel.

So putting these two types of steel together, 304 stainless steel is slightly lower than 316 stainless steel in all aspects except for its price advantage. From the perspective of consumers, 316 stainless steel is definitely the choice for food machinery, kitchenware, and medical equipment, but the prerequisite is that we can accept the relatively high price of 316; From the manufacturer's perspective, 304 stainless steel is chosen for cost considerations, and related stainless steel products are also guaranteed to meet national production standards, killing two birds with one stone.

Generally speaking, even if the current circulation of 304 on the market is relatively large, it cannot affect the true and correct answer, so there is no need to add more, and naturally 316 stainless steel wins.