AMS 6454 is a sub-type specification of Steel 4340. It’s low-alloy steel with medium carbon content and many favorable properties. The material mostly finds use in the heavy machinery industry for manufacturing of transmission parts, such as heavy-duty shafts, gears, and axles. However, it also finds use in other fields, primarily the automotive industry, commercial and military aircraft industry, ordnance hardware, pressure vessels, and rocket motor cases.
AMS 6454 possesses good ductility, very good toughness and impact strength, good shock resistance, abrasion resistance, and very good atmospheric corrosion resistance. However, its qualities change according to the treatment carried out.
Tech Steel & Materials offers AMS 6454 in a plate, sheet, and strip form, all in a vacuum arc remelted condition. Additional normalizing, hardening, and tempering treatments can produce parts with higher strength and toughness but also makes it harder to machine, and ductility will be reduced. Moreover, higher surface hardness can be achieved by using flame or induction hardening or nitriding.
Anyway, additional care must be obtained when machining the material after additional heat treatments, specifically by using a spheroidized structure. Also, AMS 6454 can be readily welded using all methods in the annealed form, but preheating and stress relief is recommended for hardened and tempered material.
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