Carbon & alloy steel
ASTM A36 Steel
Manufacturer or standards-body identification; product values do not apply to every form or condition.
Identity / state reference
What distinguishes this material
A36 is a structural-product specification; a Nucor A36 shape listing does not establish properties for every plate, bar or section thickness.
- Designation in this reference
- ASTM A36/A36M
- Forms covered by the sources
- Nucor structural shapes; other product forms require their own standard scope.
- States to distinguish or confirm
- Structural-product delivery condition and thickness must be established from the mill certificate.
- Temperature and exposure
- No universal service-temperature limit or room-temperature property set is assigned. Use the cited product document and the purchase certificate.
Property evidence for a stated condition
No condition-specific numerical table is reproduced here
The linked sources establish the identity and the stated product/state scope. Obtain the row for your actual form, section, treatment and test conditions before adopting strength, hardness or a thermal limit.
Resolve these conditions next
- What product standard, edition and complete grade are on the material certificate?
- What product form, section size and delivery/heat-treatment condition will be machined?
For machining, take the exact grade, supplied condition and measured hardness where applicable into the tool maker’s application data. A generic material-family speed is not a substitute for an operation and tool-specific recommendation.
Sources and what they establish
Reviewed 23 October 2026. A source’s publication date and the review date are different. The scope below identifies the fields checked.
Nucor structural beam grades
Actual A36, A572 Grade 50 and A992 structural shape offerings, not exact cross-standard equivalents.
Nucor structural beam grades ↗AISC mill production and material FAQs
Sections 1.3.6–1.3.7: A992 versus A572 Grade 50 and conditions for multiple certification.
AISC mill production and material FAQs ↗Source identity, a named product example and a supplied-batch certificate are different evidence. Cross-standard similarity does not approve substitution.
Corrections from the previous article
- Remove the assumed S235JR/SS400 interchangeability; compare the complete structural specification and thickness requirements.
- Withdraw the legacy generic hardness (120–150 HB) and tensile-strength (400–550 MPa (58–80 ksi)) pair: the old page does not establish a matching product, heat treatment, section and test source.
- Remove the unsupported cutting-speed table and machinability percentage; select tooling only after the actual material condition is known.
Compare a specified structural grade
Check the A572 grade, product form and stated property basis before comparing it with an A36 record.