Common Engineering Material Properties
Density, tensile and yield strength, hardness and Young's modulus for 16 common engineering metals and plastics, in both SI and imperial units, with per-row verification status.
- Tables
- 2
- Rows
- 32
- Units
- g/cm³, lb/in³, MPa, ksi, GPa
- References
- 6
- Revised
- 2026-08-11
Mechanical properties
16 rows
| Material | Densityg/cm³ | Densitylb/in³ | UTSMPa | UTSksi | YieldMPa | Yieldksi | Hardness | Young's modulusGPa | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminum 6061-T6 | 2.7 | 0.0975 | 310 | 45 | 270 | 39.2 | 95 HB (93 HB MakeItFrom) | 69 | Yes |
| Aluminum 7075-T6 | 2.81 | 0.1015 | 572 | 83 | 503 | 73 | 150 HB | 71.7 | Yes |
| Steel 1018 (cold drawn) | 7.87 | 0.2843 | 440 | 63.8 | 370 | 53.7 | 126 HB | 205 | Indicative |
| Steel 4140 (annealed) | 7.85 | 0.2836 | 655 | 95 | 415 | 60.2 | 197 HB | 205 | Indicative |
| Steel 4140 (Q&T, 28-32 HRC) | 7.85 | 0.2836 | 1020 | 147.9 | 900 | 130.5 | 28-32 HRC (~285-302 HB) | 205 | Indicative |
| Steel A36 (structural) | 7.85 | 0.2836 | 400 | 58 | 250 | 36.3 | ~119-159 HB | 200 | Indicative |
| Stainless 304 (annealed) | 8 | 0.289 | 515 | 74.7 | 205 | 29.7 | 201 HB max / 92 HRB max | 193 | Yes |
| Stainless 316 (annealed) | 8 | 0.289 | 515 | 74.7 | 205 | 29.7 | 217 HB max / 95 HRB max | 193 | Indicative |
| Stainless 17-4PH (H900) | 7.75 | 0.28 | 1310 | 190 | 1170 | 169.7 | 40-47 HRC | 197 | Indicative |
| Titanium Ti-6Al-4V (Gr 5, annealed) | 4.43 | 0.16 | 950 | 137.8 | 880 | 127.6 | 334 HB / ~36 HRC | 113.8 | Yes |
| Brass C360 (free-cutting, H02) | 8.49 | 0.3067 | 400 | 58 | 310 | 45 | 78 HRB | 97 | Yes |
| Copper C110 (ETP, H04 hard) | 8.94 | 0.323 | 345 | 50 | 310 | 45 | ~50 HRF (annealed) / 60 HRB (hard) | 117 | Indicative |
| ABS (unfilled) | 1.04 | 0.0376 | 40 | 5.8 | 40 | 5.8 | R105-R110 Rockwell | 2.3 | Yes |
| Polycarbonate (PC, unfilled) | 1.2 | 0.0434 | 65 | 9.4 | 62 | 9 | M70 / R118 Rockwell | 2.4 | Yes |
| Nylon PA66 (dry, unfilled) | 1.14 | 0.0412 | 82 | 11.9 | 82 | 11.9 | M90 / R120 Rockwell | 3 | Yes |
| PEEK (unfilled) | 1.32 | 0.0477 | 100 | 14.5 | 100 | 14.5 | M99 / R126 Rockwell | 3.9 | Yes |
| No rows match that filter. | |||||||||
16 rows × 10 columnsUnits: g/cm³, lb/in³, MPa, ksi, GPa
Selection notes
16 rows
| Material | Character |
|---|---|
| Aluminum 6061-T6 | Workhorse structural aluminum. Weldable, good machinability, anodizes well. |
| Aluminum 7075-T6 | Aerospace. High strength, poor weldability, poor corrosion resistance vs 6061. |
| Steel 1018 (cold drawn) | Low-carbon mild steel. Good weldability and formability; case-hardenable. |
| Steel 4140 (annealed) | Chrome-moly. Annealed condition for machining before heat treat. |
| Steel 4140 (Q&T, 28-32 HRC) | Common delivered condition for shafts and tooling. |
| Steel A36 (structural) | Structural plate/shape. 400-550 MPa UTS range; 250 MPa min yield. |
| Stainless 304 (annealed) | Min values per ASTM A240. Typical bar: 580 UTS / 230 YS, 170 HB. |
| Stainless 316 (annealed) | Adds Mo for chloride resistance. Same min strengths as 304. |
| Stainless 17-4PH (H900) | Precipitation-hardening. High strength plus decent corrosion resistance. |
| Titanium Ti-6Al-4V (Gr 5, annealed) | Best strength-to-weight of the common metals. Poor thermal conductivity - machines slowly. |
| Brass C360 (free-cutting, H02) | Machinability rating 100 - the benchmark all other alloys are rated against. |
| Copper C110 (ETP, H04 hard) | Highest practical electrical/thermal conductivity. Gummy - machinability rating ~20. |
| ABS (unfilled) | Tough, cheap, easy to mold and machine. Poor UV and solvent resistance. |
| Polycarbonate (PC, unfilled) | High impact strength, optically clear. Notch-sensitive; stress-cracks in some solvents. |
| Nylon PA66 (dry, unfilled) | Good wear and fatigue. Absorbs moisture - properties and dimensions shift with humidity. |
| PEEK (unfilled) | High-temperature engineering thermoplastic. Continuous service to ~250 C. Expensive. |
| No rows match that filter. | |
16 rows × 2 columns
Basis and references
Sixteen materials an engineer meets constantly: the structural aluminiums, the workhorse steels, the common stainless grades, titanium, brass, copper and four engineering thermoplastics.
Values are typical for the stated temper or condition, and that qualifier is doing a great deal of work — heat treatment moves these numbers far more than alloy choice does. 4140 goes from 655 MPa annealed to 1020 MPa quenched and tempered without changing composition at all.
Metal hardness is quoted in Brinell (HB) or Rockwell C (HRC). Plastic hardness is Rockwell M or R, a different scale entirely — an R110 on ABS and a 110 HB on steel have nothing to do with each other.
The ksi and lb/in³ columns are computed from the SI values (6.894757 MPa per ksi, 0.0361273 lb/in³ per g/cm³), so no source rounding propagates into them.
References
- [1]MakeItFrom — per-material property pages (6061-T6, 7075-T6, annealed 304)
- [2]The World Material — AISI 304 Stainless Steel Properties (ASTM A240 minimums)
- [3]ATI — ATI Ti-6Al-4V, Grade 5 datasheet
- [4]National Bronze — C36000 free-cutting brass datasheet
- [5]Direct Plastics — PEEK data sheet
- [6]Smith Metal — Nylon 6/66 data sheet
Every value on this page was set against at least two of these sources and recomputed rather than transcribed. Where they disagree, the disagreement is recorded in the notes below.
Revision and twin
Last reviewed . This page carries 32 rows across 2 tables, all of them in the HTML — nothing is paginated, gated or fetched.
Plain-Markdown twin: /charts/material-properties.md
Notes to the tables
7 notesWhere this data disagrees with itself, with other published charts, or with what the number looks like it means.
This table is spot-verified, not fully verified. Sixteen materials by six properties is 96 values. Nine rows were checked against at least one independent datasheet and are marked verified; the other seven — 1018 cold drawn, 4140 annealed, 4140 Q&T, A36, 316 annealed, 17-4PH H900 and copper C110 — are long-established handbook values (ASTM A108, A29, A36, A240, AMS 5643 and B152 respectively) that were not cross-checked cell by cell. Verify them before using them in a stress calculation.
304 is listed at its ASTM A240 minimums, not its typicals. The minimums are 515 MPa UTS and 205 MPa yield; typical bar runs nearer 580 and 230 MPa. Designing to typical rather than minimum values is a classic and dangerous error — the minimum is what the material certificate guarantees.
7075-T6 density is 2.81 g/cm³, not the 3.0 some databases publish. The 3.0 figure is a two-significant-figure rounding artefact and would introduce a 7% mass error into any weight calculation. Its UTS and yield are listed at the standard ASM values of 572/503 MPa against a rounded 560/480 elsewhere.
6061-T6 hardness is quoted two ways: 95 HB (ASM / Aluminum Association) and 93 HB (MakeItFrom). The difference is within normal lot scatter and both are shown.
A36 is a specification, not a fixed alloy. UTS is a range (400–550 MPa) and yield is a minimum (250 MPa). Real plate routinely exceeds both.
Copper and brass must always be quoted with a temper. C110 spans roughly 220 MPa UTS / 70 MPa yield annealed through 380 / 340 MPa hard-drawn — yield strength changes by more than 4×. The row here is the H04 hard condition.
All polymer values are for unfilled, dry-as-molded resin at room temperature. Glass filling roughly doubles tensile strength and modulus. Nylon in particular loses 30–40% of its strength and grows dimensionally once it reaches equilibrium moisture content, so the dry values here are optimistic for most real service environments.
Questions
8 questionsWhat is the yield strength of 6061-T6 aluminum?
270 MPa (39.2 ksi), with an ultimate tensile strength of 310 MPa (45 ksi), density 2.70 g/cm³ and Young's modulus 69 GPa. Hardness is about 95 HB.
How much stronger is 7075-T6 than 6061-T6?
About 85% stronger in tension: 572 MPa UTS against 310 MPa, and 503 MPa yield against 270 MPa. Density is only 4% higher at 2.81 g/cm³. The trade-off is that 7075 is not practically weldable and corrodes more readily.
What is the density of steel in lb/in³?
0.2836 lb/in³ (7.85 g/cm³) for 4140, A36 and most alloy steels; 1018 is very slightly higher at 0.2843 lb/in³ (7.87 g/cm³). Austenitic stainless 304 and 316 are denser at 0.2890 lb/in³ (8.00 g/cm³).
Why are the 304 stainless values lower than what I see elsewhere?
Because these are the ASTM A240 minimums — 515 MPa UTS and 205 MPa yield — rather than typical values. Typical bar runs nearer 580 and 230 MPa. The minimum is what a material certificate guarantees, and it is what you should design to.
How does heat treatment change 4140?
Annealed 4140 is 655 MPa UTS, 415 MPa yield and 197 HB. Quenched and tempered to 28–32 HRC the same alloy reaches 1020 MPa UTS and 900 MPa yield — a 56% increase in tensile strength with no change in composition.
Can I compare plastic hardness to metal hardness?
No. Metals here are quoted in Brinell or Rockwell C; plastics in Rockwell M or R. They are separate scales measured with different indenters and loads, and there is no meaningful conversion between them.
Which of these materials has the best strength-to-weight ratio?
Ti-6Al-4V: 950 MPa UTS at a density of 4.43 g/cm³. That beats 7075-T6 (572 MPa at 2.81 g/cm³) on absolute strength per unit volume and is comparable per unit mass, while holding strength at far higher temperatures.
Do these plastic values apply to glass-filled grades?
No. All polymer rows are unfilled, dry-as-molded resin at room temperature. Glass filling roughly doubles tensile strength and modulus. Nylon also loses 30–40% of its strength once it absorbs equilibrium moisture, so the dry values are optimistic in service.
How to cite this page
Manufacturing Processes. “Common Engineering Material Properties.” manufacturingprocesses.org, last reviewed 2026-08-11. https://manufacturingprocesses.org/charts/material-properties
If you reproduce a table, cite the standard it derives from as well — the references are the primary sources, this page is a cross-checked transcription of them.