Every consignment we ship carries a mill test certificate to EN 10204 3.1. Most buyers file it without reading it. It is worth two minutes.
What the blocks mean
Heat / cast number. The batch identity from the melt shop. It should also be stamped or etched on the material itself. If the number on the plate does not match the number on the certificate, stop there.
Chemical composition. The actual percentages from the ladle analysis, alongside the specified range. Read the chromium, nickel and molybdenum first — those are what you paid for. A "316" with no molybdenum line is not 316.
Mechanical properties. Yield strength, tensile strength, elongation and hardness. For austenitic grades expect roughly 205 MPa yield and 515 MPa tensile minimum in the annealed condition.
Intergranular corrosion test. Usually ASTM A262 Practice A or E. Relevant for welded service.
Dimensions and quantity. Should match your purchase order and the packing list.
The two-minute check
- Does the heat number on the certificate appear on the material?
- Do the chemistry figures sit inside the specified range, not on the edge of it?
- Is the standard on the certificate the one you ordered to — A240 for plate and sheet,
A312 for pipe, A276 for bar?
- Is the mill named, with a signature or digital stamp?
- Do the dimensions and weight match the invoice?
Signs the document has been edited
- Fonts or alignment that change part-way down the page
- A heat number that repeats across obviously different deliveries
- Chemistry values that are suspiciously round — real ladle analyses are not 18.00 and 8.00
- No mill logo, no signature block, or a scan of a scan
If you want independent proof
Ask for third-party inspection at the time of ordering — SGS, Bureau Veritas, TÜV and Intertek all operate in Delhi NCR. On our side we can also run PMI (positive material identification) with a handheld XRF gun before dispatch, which reads the alloy content of the actual piece in about ten seconds. On critical orders it is money well spent.
