Carbon Steel Balls
Ball Bearing
At a glance
Our carbon steel ball range is designed to provide a cost-effective, robust solution for applications where moderate precision, good wear resistance and load support are required. Whether you need high-carbon through-hardened ball bearings or soft, unhardened carbon steel options, we at Atlas Ball & Bearing have the material and manufacturing expertise to supply to your specifications.
150
Precision Ball Diameter
Our Carbon Steel Grades
- Reliable, Cost-Effective and Durable
Carbon Steel
(General Purpose)
Cost-effective material for low-precision or low-load applications. Often used in toys, casters, and light-duty bearings.
Carbon Steel (1085)
High Carbon / Through-Hardened
The 1085 grade is suitable for moderate load and wear applications where cost is a priority over the high fatigue life and precision of chrome steel. It bridges cost and performance effectively.
Carbon Steel (Soft)
Low Carbon / Unhardened
Choose the soft carbon steel option when your design tolerances, load and speed factors are modest and cost is a key decision factor. The soft core offers greater ductility and impact absorption, but with reduced wear resistance and dimensional stability.
Manufacturing & Supply
We stock and supply carbon steel balls in standard and custom diameters from 0.5mm to 100mm, with various hardness levels and finishes. Balls are available heat-treated, annealed, or machined to order.
Please feel free to rate our products and service or send us your comments by using our form opposite →
Additionally, we offer a bespoke ball manufacturing service, which follows the same process controls and traceability but uses a customer’s own material. For further details, please email us or call +44 (0) 1922 710515.
Why choose Carbon Steel material?
Carbon steel balls are ideal for economical applications where ultra-high precision or super-high loads are not required — but a reliable, durable ball is still essential.
Within our ferrous alloy offering, carbon steel represents a step up from very soft mild steel in terms of strength and wear-resistance, while being more cost-effective than premium chrome or stainless bearing steel.
You’ll benefit from:
Good load & wear resistance (especially higher carbon grades)
A wide range of sizes, tolerances and surface finishes available
UK-based supply with full traceability and machines to order
Useful terms and definitions
Batch or Lot:
A defined quantity of balls manufactured under conditions presumed to be uniform and which is considered an entity.
Nominal Ball Diameter:
The diameter value that is used for the general identification of a ball size.
Single Ball Diameter:
The distance between two parallel planes tangential to the actual ball surface.
Diameter Tolerance per Batch:
The allowed difference between the smallest measured ball diameter and the largest ball diameter within the same batch or lot quantity.
Sphericity:
A measure of roundness expressed as the difference between the measured roundness of a ball and a theoretically perfectly round ball.
Surface Finish or Roughness:
A measure of the texture of a surface. It is quantified by the vertical deviations of the actual surface from its ideal form. If these deviations are large, the surface is rough; if they are small, the surface is smooth.
Ball Grades
| Grade | Diameter Tolerance per Ball | Sphericity | Diameter Tolerance per Unit Container | Basic Diameter Tolerance | Maximum Surface Roughness Micro | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inch | µ | Inch | µ | Inch | µ | Inch | µ | Inch | µ | |
| 3 | .000003 | 0.076 | .000003 | 0.076 | .000005 | 0.127 | ±.00003 | ± 0.076 | 0.5 | 0.013 |
| More details about Grade 3... | ||||||||||
| 5 | .000005 | 0.127 | .000005 | 0.127 | .00001 | 0.25 | ±.00005 | ± 0.127 | 0.8 | 0.02 |
| More details about Grade 5... | ||||||||||
| 10 | .000010 | 0.25 | .000010 | 0.25 | .00002 | 0.51 | ±.0001 | ± 2.5 | 1.0 | 0.025 |
| More details about Grade 10... | ||||||||||
| 15 | .000015 | 0.38 | .000015 | 0.38 | .00003 | 0.76 | ±.0001 | ± 2.5 | 1.2 | 0.03 |
| More details about Grade 15... | ||||||||||
| 25 | .000025 | 0.63 | .000025 | 0.63 | .00005 | 1.27 | ±.0001 | ± 2.5 | 1.5 | 0.038 |
| More details about Grade 25... | ||||||||||
| 50 | .00005 | 1.27 | .00005 | 1.27 | .0001 | 2.5 | ±.0002 | ± 5 | 3.0 | 0.075 |
| More details about Grade 50... | ||||||||||
| 100 | .0001 | 2.5 | .0001 | 2.5 | .0002 | 5 | ±.0005 | ± 5 | 5.0 | 0.125 |
| More details about Grade 100... | ||||||||||
| 200 | .0002 | 5 | .0002 | 5 | .0004 | 10 | ±.0010 | ± 10 | 8.0 | 0.2 |
| More details about Grade 200... | ||||||||||
| 300 | .0003 | 7.5 | .0003 | 7.5 | .0006 | 15 | ±.0015 | ± 37.5 | N/A | N/A |
| More details about Grade 300... | ||||||||||
| 500 | .0005 | 12.5 | .0005 | 12.5 | .001 | 25 | ±.002 | ± 50 | N/A | N/A |
| More details about Grade 500... | ||||||||||
| 1000 | .001 | 25 | .001 | 25 | .002 | 50 | ±.005 | ± 125 | Not Applicable | Not Applicable |
| More details about Grade 1000... | ||||||||||
| 2000 | .002 | 50 | .002 | 50 | .004 | 100 | ±.005 | ± 125 | N/A | N/A |
| More details about Grade 2000... | ||||||||||
Sample Our Work!
Take the first step towards precision and quality with our expert services. At Atlas Ball & Bearing, we’re committed to delivering top-notch precision balls and rollers for a wide range of industries, including gas, oil, medical, and transportation. Our dedicated team is ready to assist you with custom solutions tailored to your specific needs. Experience the Atlas Ball & Bearing difference now!