1018 Cold Drawn Steel Bar — Factory Direct Supplier | Huaxia-Steel

Huaxia-Steel supplies AISI 1018 (GB 20# / 1.0419 equivalent) cold drawn steel bar in rounds 3–100 mm, squares and hexagons 4–80 mm, and flats per drawing — drawn to h9/h11 tolerance, straightened to 0.5 mm/m, and delivered in cut lengths or 3–6 m bundles. Certified to ASTM A108, EN 10204 3.1, with optional bright-bar peeling and chamfering for Swiss-turn and CNC screw-machine feedstock. Factory direct from our drawing benches with 10–20 day lead times.

Product Overview

1018 cold drawn bar is the default choice for high-volume, medium-strength machined parts: shafts, bushings, pins, spacers, fasteners, and fixture components. Cold drawing improves on hot-rolled stock in three ways that matter to machine shops — the surface is smooth and scale-free (saves cleanup and improves tool life by 20–30%), the diameter holds a tight h9/h11 tolerance (lets you machine directly to finish on non-critical diameters), and the strain hardening lifts yield strength roughly 40–60% over the hot-rolled equivalent, all while keeping the steel soft enough (max ~126 HB) for rapid turning, drilling, and thread cutting. We draw from controlled low-carbon heats with S levels kept within standard limits; for parts that will be case hardened (carburized to 55–60 HRC case with tough core), 1018 is the industry workhorse.

Specification Table

Parameter	Detail
Grade	AISI 1018 / GB 20# / JIS S20C (close) / W-Nr 1.0419 (C22 close)
Standard	ASTM A108 (cold drawn), SAE J403 chemistry
Chemistry	C 0.15–0.20%, Mn 0.60–0.90%, P ≤0.040%, S ≤0.050%
Round bar	Ø3–100 mm, tolerance h9 (or h11), straightness ≤0.5 mm/m
Hex / square	4–80 mm across flats, tolerance h11
Flat bar	10×3 to 100×30 mm, edge radius per drawing
Mechanical (typ. CD)	Yield ≥370 MPa, tensile 420–540 MPa, elongation ≥10%, hardness ≤126 HB
Lengths	3,000/4,000/6,000 mm stock; cut-to-length ±0.5 mm

Cold Drawn vs Hot Rolled 1018 — What You Actually Get

Property	Hot Rolled	Cold Drawn
Diameter tolerance	±0.5–0.8 mm	−0.025/+0.050 mm (h9)
Surface	Mill scale, decarburized layer	Bright, scale-free, no decarb
Yield strength	~220 MPa	~370–400 MPa
Straightness	2–4 mm/m possible bow	≤0.5 mm/m
Machining economy	Stock removal needed on all surfaces	Machine to finish where drawing allows

Processing Options

• Centerless ground: tolerance h7/h8, Ra ≤0.8 µm, for shafting and dowel stock.
• Peeling/skiving: removes decarb and surface defects on larger rounds before drawing.
• Chamfered/chamfer-pointed ends: automatic lathe and Swiss-machine bar feeding.
• Cut-to-length: ±0.5 mm with deburring, ready for your CNC magazine.
• Heat treatment: stress relieved (annealed to ≤111 HB) or case-hardening-ready bundles; carburizing service available in-house on request.

Manufacturing Standards

• ASTM A108 cold-finished carbon steel bars; chemistry per SAE J403.
• EN 10083-2 comparable C22 for EU buyers — note EN buyers should specify C22/C22E to keep certificates aligned with drawings.
• Dimensional inspection per ISO 2768; straightness measured on every bundle’s longest bars.
• MTRs to EN 10204 3.1 with chemistry, tensile, and hardness; 3.2 third-party witness available.

Applications

• CNC turned parts: pins, bushings, rollers, shafts, couplings
• Case-hardened components: gears, cams, wear pins (carburized)
• Fasteners and cold-formed specials
• Jigs, fixtures, and machine-build detail parts
• Hydraulic fittings and pneumatic cylinder components

Quality Assurance

Every bundle carries heat-number tags; certificates include chemistry, tensile, hardness, and drawing-reduction records. We check decarburization depth on incoming hot-rolled feedstock (≤1.5% of diameter after drawing), verify diameter with calibrated micrometers at three positions per bar on sampled bundles, and run tensile tests per heat. For automatic-machining customers we can supply bar-feed sample coupons before production lots and support third-party inspection (SGS/BV) at our warehouse.

Packing & Delivery

Bundles of 0.5–2 t, rust-preventive oil or VCI wrap, plastic end caps on bright/ground bars, seaworthy plywood or steel-bound crates. 3–6 m lengths fit standard containers without overhang; cut lengths packed per part number. Lead time: 7–15 days for standard diameters from drawing-bench stock, 15–25 days for special sizes and centerless-ground material. Export docs: invoice, packing list, MTRs, COO, and HS 7222/7228 classification support.