Material hardness chart.
How hard each material we offer is, on one Brinell scale with Rockwell B and C marked along it — from 1100-H14 at 32 HB to AR500 at about 500. Hard resists wear and denting; soft bends, clinches and machines easily. Pick a use to see which materials fit.
| Material | Offered as | Brinell · Shore D | Rockwell | Published as | Fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1100-H14 | Sheet stock | 32 HB | — | — | — |
| 5052-H32 | Sheet stock | 60 HB | — | — | — |
| MIC-6 cast plate | Sheet stock | 65 HB | — | — | — |
| 6061-T6 | Sheet stock · CNC | 95 HB | — | — | — |
| 7075-T6 | Sheet stock · CNC | 150 HB | — | — | — |
| 3003-H14 | Reference | 40 HB | — | — | — |
| 2024-T3 | Reference | ≈ 120 HB | — | — | — |
| Magnesium AZ31B-H24 | Reference | 73 HB | — | — | — |
| C110 copper, half hard | Reference | ≈ 85 HB | — | HRF 84 · HRB 40 | — |
| C360 free-cutting brass | Reference | ≈ 112 HB | — | HRB 60–65 typical | — |
| C260 cartridge brass, half hard | Reference | ≈ 121 HB | — | HRB 70 | — |
| A1008 cold rolled | Sheet stock | ≤ 114 HB | — | HRB 65 max (CS Type B) | — |
| A1008 electro-galvanized | Sheet stock | ≈ ≤ 114 HB | — | HRB 65 max (CS Type B base) | — |
| G90 galvanized | Sheet stock | ≤ 114 HB | — | HRB 65 max (A653 CS Type B) | — |
| A36 HR pickled & oiled | Sheet stock | 119–159 HB | — | 119–159 HB | — |
| A36 mill finish | Sheet stock | 119–159 HB | — | 119–159 HB | — |
| Corten (weathering) | Sheet stock | 135–170 HB | — | 135–170 HB | — |
| HSLAS Grade 50 | Sheet stock | 150–169 HB | — | HRB 80–85 (150–169 HB) | — |
| Spring steel 1075 / 1095 | Sheet stock | 456–496 HB | — | HRC 48–51 (ASTM A684) | — |
| AR500 | Sheet stock | 470–530 HB | — | 500 HB nominal, 450 min; typical 470–530 | — |
| 1018 cold drawn | Reference | 126 HB | — | — | — |
| 4140 annealed | Reference | 197 HB | — | 197 HB · 92 HRB | — |
| 316 | Sheet stock | 143 HB | — | HRB 79 | — |
| 304 | Sheet stock | 160 HB | — | HRB 84 typical; A240 max HRB 92 | — |
| 430 | Reference | 155 HB | — | HRB 82 typical; A240 max HRBW 89 | — |
| 303 | Reference | 165 HB | — | — | — |
| 17-4 PH, H900 | Reference | 411 HB | — | HRC 43 typical (H900) | — |
| CP titanium Grade 2 | Reference | 146 HB | — | ≈ HRB 80 (annealed) | — |
| Ti-6Al-4V (Grade 5) | Reference | 286–319 HB | — | HRC 30–34 (annealed) | — |
| Monel 400 | Reference | 110–149 HB | — | 110–149 HB (rod) | — |
| Inconel 600 | Reference | ≈ 114–162 HB | — | HRB 65–85 (plate, rod); sheet HRB 88 max | — |
| Inconel 625, annealed | Reference | 145–240 HB | — | 145–240 HB (sheet and strip) | — |
| Hastelloy C-276 | Reference | ≈ 190 HB | — | about HRB 90 | — |
| Monel K-500, aged | Reference | 265–346 HB | — | 265–346 HB · HRC 27–38 | — |
| Inconel 718, aged | Reference | 411–440 HB | — | HRC 43–46 | — |
| PA-12 (HP MJF) | 3D printing | Shore D 80 | — | — | — |
| PA-11 (HP MJF) | 3D printing | Shore D 80 | — | — | — |
| PA-12 glass bead (HP MJF) | 3D printing | Shore D 82 | — | — | — |
| PTFE (Teflon) | Reference | Shore D 53 | — | Shore D 50–55 | — |
| UHMW polyethylene | Reference | Shore D 66 | — | — | — |
| ABS | Reference | ≈ Shore D 75 | R100–110 | — | — |
| Nylon 6/6 (dry) | Reference | ≈ Shore D 80 | M89 | — | — |
| Polycarbonate | Reference | ≈ Shore D 80 | M70 | — | — |
| PEEK (unfilled) | Reference | Shore D 85 | M99 | — | — |
| Acrylic (PMMA) | Reference | ≈ Shore D 85 | M92–100 | — | — |
| Acetal homopolymer (Delrin) | Reference | Shore D 86 | M80–94 | — | — |
Pick the hardness for the job.
Hardness is how well a material resists a permanent dent. It is not a score where higher always wins: a wear liner wants it, a tight bend fights it.
Hard material shrugs off abrasion, scratches and dents, but it cracks on a tight bend, wears out taps and punches, and will not accept a self-clinching fastener. Soft material forms, clinches and machines easily, and dents just as easily. Choose a use below to see which materials fit.
Hard
Soft
Brinell, Rockwell, Shore
Brinell presses a 10 mm ball and measures the dent — best for sheet and plate. Rockwell B and C read depth and are common on mill certs. Plastics use a Shore D durometer. ASTM E140 converts between scales with a separate table for each metal family, and every conversion is approximate.
Hardness tracks strength
For carbon and low-alloy steel, tensile strength is roughly 3.45 × HB in MPa (Pavlina and Van Tyne, 2008). The checker shows that estimate next to the published value — a quick sanity check on a mill cert.
Same alloy, different hardness
Temper changes hardness far more than alloy: 5052-O and 5052-H32 are the same metal. Always read hardness with the temper or condition — the chart lists the one we stock.
One scale, two rulers.
Each bar is a typical Brinell hardness. Along the top, Rockwell B and Rockwell C are placed at their Brinell equivalents using the ASTM E140 table for steel, so you can read a cert in either scale. E140 has separate tables for nickel alloys, brass, copper, austenitic stainless and aluminum, so on those metals the Rockwell positions here are only a guide — the “Published as” column gives the value each source actually reports.
The drawing shows the Brinell test on the material you check: a 10 mm ball under 500 kgf for soft metals or 3000 kgf for steel, and the diameter of the dent it leaves. Add materials to compare their dents under the same load.
Where the numbers come from.
- Brinell hardness test: 10 mm ball, 500 kg for soft metals, 3000 kg for steel — Missouri S&T · source · test conditions as in ASTM E10
- ASTM E140 — Standard Hardness Conversion Tables for Metals — ASTM International · source · separate tables for steel, nickel alloys, brass, austenitic stainless, copper and aluminum; all conversions approximate
- E. J. Pavlina and C. J. Van Tyne, Correlation of yield strength and tensile strength with hardness for steels, J. Mater. Eng. Perform. 17 (2008) 888–893 — Colorado School of Mines · source · UTS ≈ 3.45 × HB (MPa), non-austenitic steels
- ASTM D2240 — Durometer Hardness (Shore D) — ASTM International
- Raw material selection guide: aluminum — ESI · source
- Aluminum 5052-H32 sheet metal datasheet — Protolabs · source
- 6061-T651 datasheet (Kaiser Aluminum data) — Protolabs · source
- Aluminum 7075 property sheet — Quickparts · source
- 2024-T351 datasheet (Kaiser Aluminum data) — Protolabs · source
- Steel 101: commercial-steel Type B hardness, 65 HRB max — Miami Valley Steel · source
- Fasteners for stainless steel panels — panel hardness limits by fastener material — PennEngineering (PEM) · source
- AR500 abrasion-resistant plate — Chapel Steel · source
- Wear-resistant 1095 spring steel, blue tempered (ASTM A684) — McMaster-Carr · source
- 304 / 304L stainless datasheet (AK Steel data) — Protolabs · source
- 316 / 316L stainless datasheet (AK Steel data) — Protolabs · source
- 430 stainless steel alloy data sheet — Combined Metals · source
- ATI 17-4 technical data sheet — ATI · source
- ATI CP-1, CP-2, CP-3, CP-4 titanium technical data sheet — ATI · source
- ATI 6-4 titanium technical data sheet — ATI · source
- C11000 electrolytic tough pitch copper — Copper Development Association · source
- C26000 cartridge brass — Copper Development Association · source
- C36000 free-cutting brass — Copper Development Association · source
- INCONEL alloy 600 technical bulletin — Special Metals Corporation · source
- INCONEL alloy 625 technical bulletin — Special Metals Corporation · source
- INCONEL alloy 718 technical bulletin — Special Metals Corporation · source
- MONEL alloy 400 technical bulletin — Special Metals Corporation · source
- MONEL alloy K-500 technical bulletin — Special Metals Corporation · source
- HP MJF PA 12 Glass Beads datasheet (Shore D, ASTM D2240) — Protolabs · source
- Mechanical properties of plastics (Rockwell, Shore D) — Professional Plastics · source
- VICTREX PEEK 450G datasheet (Shore D 84.5, ISO 868) — Victrex · source
- TIVAR 1000 UHMW-PE data sheet — Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials, via Polymershapes · source
- Hardox bending guarantees: minimum punch radius rises with hardness — SSAB, via industry.gov.au · source
Typical values in the condition we stock. Values marked ≈ are converted, from a closely related grade, or typical for the material. Commercial sheet steel is sold to a maximum hardness (shown as ≤), so real coils are usually softer. Hardness specifications are maximums or ranges — check the governing spec.