Straight chromium (12-18%), magnetic and can be hardened by heat treatment. Typical use: Fasteners, pump shafts

Straight chromium (12-18%), "low" carbon, magnetic, but not heat treatable. Typical use: Appliance trim, cooking utensils.

Chromium (17-25%)/Nickel (8-25%), non-magnetic, not heat treatable. Can develop high strength by cold work. Additions of molybdenum (up to 7%) can increase the corrosion resistance. Typical use: Food equipment, chemical equipment, architectural applications

Ref: http://www.ssina.com/stainless/products.htm

Corrosion-resistant steel of a wide variety that always contains more than 10% chromium, with or without other alloying elements. Stainless steel resists corrosion attack by organic acids, weak mineral acids, and atmospheric oxidation, keeps its strength at high temperatures, and is easily maintained. The most common grades of stainless steel are: Type 304, austenitic (chromium-nickel); Type 316, austenitic with 2%-3% molybdenum; Type 409, ferritic (low chromium) for high-temperature use; Type 410, heat-treatable martensitic (medium chromium) with a high strength level Type 430, ferritic general-purpose grade with some corrosion resistance.

Ref: http://www.rollformedshapes.com/termss-z.htm#SCALE

This family of stainless steels is made up of two groups of materials: Chromium-Manganese-Nickel types, or 200 Series, and the Chromium-Nickel types, or 300 Series.

The 200 Series alloys possess mechanical and corrosion resisting properties similar to their corresponding 300 Series materials. They also exhibit higher hardness and yield strength as well as excellent ductility and superior creep properties at elevated temperatures and are usually non-magnetic. These alloys were originally developed to conserve nickel as compared to the 300 Series by replacing nickel with manganese at a ratio of 2% manganese for each percent of nickel replaced.

Typical end uses include dairy equipment, food processing industries, cooking utensils and kitchen equipment, hospital wares, railroad car and truck trailer structurals, tanks and pressure vessels, hose clamps, cryogenic applications, and deep drawn parts

Alloys in this series include:
Type 201, Type 201L, AL 201LN™, AL 219™, AL 30™, AL 33™, and AL 50™.

300 Series stainless steels are the most widely used products produced by Allegheny Ludlum Corporation. They are classified as austenitic, and are hardenable only by cold working methods. These grades of stainless have chromium (approx. 18 to 30%) and nickel (approx. 6 to 20%) as their major alloying additions. Type 304 (also known as 18-8) is the most widely used alloy of all stainless steels.

Their nickel content changes their fundamental structure and nature, lowers their thermal conductivity, doubles their coefficient of expansion and makes them non-magnetic as compared to straight chromium 400 Series alloys. They provide high resistance to corrosion and possess great strength and oxidation resistance at elevated temperature, yet retain good ductility at extremely cold temperatures. In the annealed state, 300 Series stainless steels possess unusual ductility and formability, high impact strength and high tensile strength compared to mild carbon steels.

The 300 Series alloys have excellent fabrication characteristics, including good weldability.

The 300 Series stainless steels can meet a wide variety of physical and mechanical requirements making them excellent materials for applications including auto molding and trim, wheel covers, kitchen equipment, hose clamps, springs, truck bodies, exhaust manifolds, stainless flatware, storage tanks, pressure vessels, and piping.

AL 304DA™, a clad carbon steel, is used in the cookware industry.

Alloys in the 300 Series include :
Cr/Ni Types 301, 302, 302B, 303, 304, 304L, 305
Cr/Ni/Mo Types 316, 316L, 317, 317L, 317LX™, 317LXN™
High Cr/Ni Types 309, 309H, 309S, 309Si, 310, 310H, 310S, 310Si, AL 310L™, AL 332™, AL 334™
Stabilized Types 321, 347, 348
High strength Types AM 362™, AM 363™

These grades of stainless have 11 to 30% chromium as the major alloy addition and are low carbon. Ductility and formability are less than that of the austenitic grades. The corrosion resistance competes with the austenitic grades for certain applications. Thermal conductivity is about half that of carbon steels. Ferritic stainless steels are magnetic, and resistance to high-temperature corrosion is better than that of martensitic types. They generally have good ductility and can be welded or fabricated without difficulty. These grades can be processed to develop an aesthetically pleasing, bright finish and, hence, are often used for automotive trim and appliance molding. They also find use in functional applications where cost is a major factor, e.g., automotive exhaust systems, catalytic converters, radiator caps, and chimney liners. These grades can also be hardened by cold rolling, but cannot be hardened as much as the austenitic alloys.

End uses for ferritic types include appliances, hot water tanks, automotive applications, and deep drawn parts such as cookware. Type 409, developed by Allegheny Ludlum in 1962, is the second most widely used stainless steel behind Type 304, and its primary use is in automotive exhaust systems.

Alloys in this series include :
Type 405, AL 409HP™, AL 409Cb™, 410S, 430, AL 433™, 434, 436, AL 436S™, 439, AL 439HP™, AL 441™, AL 441HP™, 444 (Alloy 18-2), 446, 453 and AL 468™

These grades of stainless steel have chromium in the range of 11 to 17% as the major alloying addition, but the carbon levels are in amounts from .10 to .65%. This radically changes the behavior of the martensitic alloys relative to the ferritic 400 Series alloys. The high carbon enables the material to be hardened by heating to a high temperature, followed by rapid cooling (quenching). Martensitic types offer the ideal combination of corrosion resistance and superior mechanical properties, as produced by heat treatment to develop maximum hardness, strength and resistance to abrasion and erosion. The 400 Series martensitic grades that Allegheny Ludlum makes are AL 403™, AL 410™, AL 410HC™, AL 420™, 420HC, AL 425™ Modified, and AL 440A™. (Note: HC stands for high carbon.) The martensitic grades are usually sold in the soft state. This allows the customers to cut or form the parts before they are thermally hardened. End uses include cutlery, scissors, surgical instruments, wear plates, garbage disposal shredder lugs, and industrial knives. The AL 403™ alloy is used to make vanes for steam turbines.

AL 412™ is a dual phase, ferritic-martensitic stainless steel which provides a corrosion resistant alternative to carbon steels.

Alloys in this series also include AL 418™ Special, and AL 440C™, a higher carbon version of 440A.

Ref: http://www.alleghenyludlum.com/pages/products/alloy-stainless.html