Watch & Luxury Goods

BÖHLER A204 is a stainless austenitic Cr-Ni-Mo steel with a low carbon content, highly polishable and good cold formability. Good resistance to body perspiration, reducing acids such as diluted sulphuric and hydrochloric acid and to localized corrosion attack in media containing chlorine ions. Resistant to intergranular corrosion up to 400°C. Application for the watch and jewelry industry as well as mechanical and apparatus engineering.

BÖHLER A224 is a stainless austenitic Cr-Ni-Mo steel with low carbon content. Resistant to intergranular corrosion up to 750°F (400°C). Heat treatment after welding not required. Good resistance to reducing acids, such as diluted sulfuric and hydrochloric acid, and to localized corrosion attack in media containing chlorine ions. Required surface finish pickled or polished. Very good cold formability, highly polishable.

BÖHLER L035 is a 35-cobalt-35-nickel-20-chromium-10-molybdenum wrought alloy (UNS R30035) used for the production of surgical implants. This alloy composition has been successfully used in human implants. Long-term clinical experience has shown an acceptable biological response. The exceptional properties of BÖHLER L035 result from its chemical composition, high-quality melting technology, cold forming and heat treatment. It is a vacuum induction melted (VIM) and vacuum arc remelted (VAR) superalloy. BÖHLER L035 is a nickel-cobalt based multiphase alloy system with a unique combination of properties e.g. extremely high strength, toughness, ductility and excellent corrosion resistance. The alloy can be strengthened and aged in the factory to achieve strength values of max. 260 to 300 ksi (1793-2086 MPa) and stress corrosion cracking (SCC) resistance even in hydrogen sulphide. The BÖHLER L035 alloy resists pitting and crevice corrosion caused by seawater, chloride solutions and other corrosive environments, e.g. mineral acids (nitric, hydrochloric, sulphuric acid).

BÖHLER N324 is a heat-treatable, corrosion-resistant steel with 13% Cr, 1.3% Mo and 1.2% Ni. The sulphur content of approx. 0.2% improves machinability. This steel has better corrosion resistance, hardness and toughness than standard steels with 13% Cr. A high surface quality is required to achieve adequate corrosion resistance after hardening and tempering. A polishing and passivation treatment is recommended. Tempering above 427 °C [800 °F] leads to reduced corrosion resistance. Products made from this steel are used for parts in general engineering and non-critical cutting and non-cutting medical applications with a hardness of up to 48/53 HRC that require resistance to wear and corrosion. Typical parts include knives, scissors, drills, screws and blades. Grades with improved machinability should not be used for critical parts of surgical instruments and should only be considered for instrument applications if appropriate measures can be taken during manufacture to minimize the inherent limitations of this alloy class.

BÖHLER P558 is a high-nitrogen 11% manganese-17% chromium-3% molybdenum-nickel stainless steel for surgical implants. Its metallurgical requirements include a fine-grained, austenitic microstructure without delta ferrite, low inclusion content, and resistance to intergranular corrosion. BÖHLER P558 also exhibits pitting and crevice corrosion resistance that is significantly better than the reference material in Specification F138 and exceeds the material values ​​specified in Specification F1314 and Specification F1586. Biocompatibility tests for this material have been positive and meet the requirements of the test standards used. The chemical composition of this steel features a high carbon content, along with high nitrogen content. The high carbon content is considered critical in the conventional metallurgy of chromium-nickel stainless steels, but the simultaneous alloying of nitrogen and carbon in BÖHLER P558 has a beneficial effect on the stabilization of the austenitic phase, extends the range of austenite stability to lower solution annealing temperatures, increases corrosion resistance, and leads to better toughness properties.

BÖHLER P570 is a non-magnetic, nickel-free, austenitic Cr-Mn-Mo-N stainless steel for high-quality watches, with excellent corrosion resistance. The high nitrogen content is responsible for good strength and ductility properties, both in the solution-annealed and cold-worked condition. This results in a stable austenitic microstructure without delta ferrite, sigma phase and other precipitates. In addition, a homogeneous structure and a high degree of purity are achieved by remelting processes. This in turn guarantees the best polishability. Due to the low nickel content, good biocompatibility is achieved. BÖHLER P570 has a high cold forming potential, high strength is already achieved with low cold forming.