Shining Stainless Steel Tables for your workplace

Although stainless steel would more properly be called stain-resistant steel since it too can deteriorate in certain conditions, it is highly resistant to corrosion.
 This is due to the amount of chromium present in the alloy, at least five times greater than in carbon steel. Giving manufacturers the strength and heat resistance of steel without the rust it attracts, "stainless" is an ideal steel material for industrial tables. Found in labs and cleanrooms across the country, stainless steel tables are both durable and practical.

Stainless Steel's Qualities and History Are Food For Thought

When enough chromium is present in steel, a top layer of chromium oxide forms on contact with air or moisture, protecting the underlying metal. This is very different from what happens with carbon steel, which develops instead a layer of iron oxide - think rust - that speeds its further decay. Preventing surface corrosion and protecting the integrity of the material, stainless is thus a smart steel choice for industrial tables that have to endure harsh conditions.


The resistance of steel-chromium alloys to rust was first observed in the early 1800s by a Frenchman who hoped to eat without rusty cutlery. Unfortunately, it took another century for stainless steel to be produced, first appearing in the very early years of the 20th Century. Today, thanks to metallurgical advances, it is used to make not only cutlery but also the cleanroom tables and work stations of the entire food industry.

Get the Rust Off With Modern Stainless Tables

Often subjected to extremely corrosive conditions, stainless steel is a popular choice for industrial tables primarily because of its resistance to rust. Eventually, rust flakes, contaminating whatever is on the table and exposing the metal to further corrosion in a self-destructive spiral. Yet steel is the obvious choice for industrial tables that may be subjected to extremely high heat used in testing.


Stainless steel provided the solution to this dilemma, offering a material with the strength of steel that anticipates air and moisture and puts them to good use.
 It is the oxygen in both that combines with the chromium in stainless alloys to create a protective layer for them. Turning lemons into lemonade, metallurgists figured out how to combine high chromium content with low carbon, and today, these steel tables are essentially rustproof.

There's No Need to Get Out of the Industrial Kitchen

Heat resistance is another property essential to work stations used in industrial settings and valued in stainless steel tables. At extremely high temperatures, a brittle precipitate can form within the steel, causing the steel itself to become too brittle and fracture.
 The problem is called "sigma phase formation" and is a common one for many grades of stainless steel. Accordingly, Grade 304 stainless steel is used in high quality industrial tables, because it is as 'sigma-phaseless' as it is stainless, virtually impervious to high heat.


Carbide precipitation also comes with high heat, the chromium in stainless steel first combining with the carbon in it and then released into the air. It is another thing to consider when choosing the grade of steel to be used in an industrial table. Able to withstand extreme heat, corrosion, high pressures, and forceful impact as well, industrial quality steel tables offer a moveable feast of important properties.