FRANTZ Sterling
® Steel Ball has been manufacturing carbon steel balls in Sterling IL since 1947. Sterling
® Steel Ball products earned a national reputation for quality, precision, and performance.
This is our Hardened Carbon Steel Ball value to you:
When you're looking for a cost efficient ball selection look to our hardened carbon steel balls. Many sizes available for immediate shipment, or have our engineering service develop the precision ball to fit your exact specifications.
Manufacturing, sourcing, and quality are handled at our plant in Sterling, IL, USA. Balls are carburized and hardened, with a highly polished surface finish. They feature a minimum hardness of 60 Rc with ball sphericity to .0001" and will fit a wide range of applications.
Typical Uses
- Drawer slides
- Quick connect fittings
- Bicycles
- Door closures
- Conveyor rollers
- Seat slides
- Steering columns
- Casters and wheels
- Tool cases
- Turn signal switches
- Fishing lures
- Seat swivels
- Lawn mowers
- Patio door slides
- Lazy susans
- Hinges
Features
- Manufactured to stringent ABMA Spec. 10 standards
- Full range of ball sizes (1/8" to 1")
- High quality carbon steel material
- Available grades (100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000)
- Full traceability of material
- Case hardened carbon steel
Chemical Analysis (Raw Material)
- Carbon (core) 0.10 to 0.20%
- Manganese 0.60 to 0.90%
- Silicon 0.10 to 0.20
- Sulphur 0.50% maximum
- Phosphorus 0.040% maximum
Hardness Properties
- Hardness for carbon steel balls, as measured on the ball's surface is Rockwell "C" 60 (minimum) or specified by customers. See chart for minimum case depth.
Case Depth Requirements
| Ball Diameter | Minimum Case Depth | Ball Diameter | Minimum Case Depth |
| at least | but not | at least | but not |
| 1/8" | 3/16" | .025" | 3/8" | 7/16" | .055" |
| 3/16" | 7/32" | .030" | 7/16" | 1/2" | .065" |
| 7/32" | 1/4" | .035" | 1/2" | 9/16" | .070" |
| 1/4" | 3/8" | .045" | 9/16" | 3/4" | .075" |
| | | 3/4" | 1½" | .080" |
Ball Weight Table
| Ball Diameter | No. of Balls per lb. | No. of Balls per kg. |
| Decimal | Fraction |
| .1250 | 1/8" | 3440 | 7584 |
| .1875 | 3/16" | 1020 | 2249 |
| .2500 | 1/4" | 430 | 948 |
| .3125 | 5/16" | 220 | 485 |
| .3750 | 3/8" | 128 | 282 |
| .4375 | 7/16" | 80.3 | 177 |
| .5000 | 1/2" | 53.8 | 119 |
| .5625 | 9/16" | 37.8 | 83 |
| .6250 | 5/8" | 27.5 | 61 |
| .6875 | 11/16" | 20.7 | 46 |
| .7500 | 3/4" | 15.9 | 35 |
| .8125 | 13/16" | 12.5 | 28 |
| .8750 | 7/8" | 10.0 | 22 |
| .9375 | 15/16" | 8.16 | 18 |
| 1.0000 | 1" | 6.72 | 14 |
Tolerances by Grade for Lots of Balls and Individual Balls
| Ball Grade | Allowable Lot
Diameter Variation | Allowable Ball Diameter Variation | Allowable Deviation
from Spherical Form | Maximum Surface
Roughness Arithmetic Avg. |
| 100 | .0002" | .0001" | .0001" | 5 |
| 200 | .0004" | .0002" | .0002" | 8 |
| 500 | .001" | .0005" | .0005" | N/A |
| 1000 | .002" | .001" | .001" | N/A |
| 2000 | .004" | .002" | .002" | N/A |