I'm designing a thin clamp that needs some spring in the assembly (allows the clamped part to self align). Essentially, there will be a flat spring in the assembly that does not move except during assembly.
Currently this assembly is 2 pieces- One larger formed part of 1018 that gets carburized for wear resistance then a small formed part made from 1095 pre-hard spring steel. I can't make the entire thing from 1095. It's just too expensive. But I am very curious if I made this assembly all one piece and the "springy part" (about 2" by .600" of 16 gauge) was just carburized 1018 would it work the same?
I know it's a difficult question to answer without seeing the actual use, but what I'm really curious about is whether carburized 1018 sheetmetal is ever used as a cheaper substitute to spring steel?
Currently this assembly is 2 pieces- One larger formed part of 1018 that gets carburized for wear resistance then a small formed part made from 1095 pre-hard spring steel. I can't make the entire thing from 1095. It's just too expensive. But I am very curious if I made this assembly all one piece and the "springy part" (about 2" by .600" of 16 gauge) was just carburized 1018 would it work the same?
I know it's a difficult question to answer without seeing the actual use, but what I'm really curious about is whether carburized 1018 sheetmetal is ever used as a cheaper substitute to spring steel?