These are solid stainless steel balls between 10 mm and 15.8 mm, polished and then drilled, and where the drawing asks for it, tapped so they can carry a thread. They are supplied in 304 or 316, in a range of precision grades, and in the running sizes this band covers.
If you have been looking at hollow stainless steel balls, the difference matters. These are solid spheres with a bore cut into them, not shells. The material around the hole is as thick as the ball allows, so a thread has something to bite into and the ball holds its shape when the joint is tightened.
What the ball does is decided by your drawing rather than by a catalogue. Thread-drilling fixtures use it as the moving element that a threaded pin passes through. Tool rooms keep a few as reference parts when checking thread fit. Product developers build them into mobile phone stands, adjustable arms and craft pieces as a clean metal pivot. Valve and pump builders take the same ball plain or bored, choosing the grade to suit the media.
Two things are worth knowing before you specify. Austenitic stainless is not hardenable by heat treatment, so the ball stays relatively soft — excellent for corrosion resistance and for machining, but not a stand-in for a through-hardened bearing ball. And the bore is a secondary operation: it is quoted against your drawing rather than picked from a shelf, while the ball underneath is a standard line item.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Product | Stainless steel balls, 10 mm-15.8 mm, drilled or tapped for threading |
| Material | 304 or 316 stainless steel |
| Drilled versions | Carbon steel also available for drilled parts |
| Sizes in this band | 10, 10.5, 11, 11.1 and 11.5 mm through to 15.8 mm |
| Precision grade | G10 to G1000 |
| Hardness | HRC26-30 |
| Surface | Polished |
| Standards | DIN, AISI, GB |
| Certification | ISO, RoHS |
| Brand | Condar |
| Model reference | cd1301 |
| Origin | Shandong, China |
| Typical use | Thread-drilling fixtures, tooling, mobile phone stands, craft and hardware parts |
Both 304 and 316 are austenitic, both polish to the same bright finish, and once a batch is in the rack you cannot tell them apart by eye. That means the grade has to be decided on paper rather than on the shop floor, and the real question is what will touch the ball in service.
304 is the default for water, air, indoor hardware, general fixtures and dry assemblies. It resists corrosion in ordinary atmospheres and machines cleanly, which is why most drilled work runs in this grade.
316 earns its extra cost where chlorides, marine air or process acids are involved. It resists sulfuric, phosphoric and acetic acid environments and is the grade used in chemical, papermaking and textile plant. In the delivered condition 316 stainless steel balls are effectively non-magnetic, which is one reason they turn up in instrument work, while the 304 grade picks up slight magnetism once it has been cold worked.
Two practical notes. Both grades work-harden as they are cut, so a deep blind bore with a fine thread is a slower job than a plain through hole — worth knowing when you plan the order. And buyers who know us as a stainless steel ball valve manufacturer usually ask for 316 first, because the ball being drilled today may sit in a chloride line tomorrow.
| Check | Method |
| Hardness | Rockwell hardness tester, with the result reported as an HRC value |
| Spherical error | Roundness meter, which traces the ball and plots how far it departs from a true circle |
| Where roundness matters most | Tight grades such as G5 and G10, where ellipticity shows up first |
| Size and tolerance | Digital micrometer or spiral micrometer, read across the ball |
| Large diameters | Vernier caliper, where a micrometer will not span the ball |
| Grade verification | Checked against the DIN, AISI and GB definitions for the stated grade |
| Thread check | Go/no-go gauge on drilled and tapped parts |
| Drilled edge | Visual check for burrs, then a re-polish before the batch is released |
| Attribute | Detail |
| Applicable industries | Building materials stores, production workshops, repair shops, energy and mining companies, hardware accessories |
| Material | Carbon steel and stainless steel, including 304 and 316 |
| Grade | G10–G1000 |
| Size range | 10 mm to 15.8 mm, including 10 mm, 10.5 mm, 11 mm, 11.1 mm and 11.5 mm |
| Hardness | HRC26–30 |
| Surface | Polished |
| Standard | DIN, AISI, GB |
| Certification | ISO, RoHS |
| Brand and model | condar, cd1301 |
| Country of origin | Shandong, China |
| Packaging | Cardboard boxes |
| Typical use | Mobile phone stand, craft work |
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sales unit | Single product |
| Single package size | 15 × 10 × 5 cm |
| Gross weight per single product | 0.001 kg |
| Freight method and lead time | Confirmed with your order |
Yuncheng Kangda Steelball Co., Ltd., the factory behind the Condar brand, has been producing precision balls in Shandong, China since 2014 with a team of 80. Two factories handle production, while a 2,000 m² warehouse inside the Liaocheng logistics park keeps common sizes in stock so ordered sizes can leave quickly. More than a hundred sets of production and inspection equipment work to GB/T308.1-2013, backed by ISO documentation and RoHS/REACH material statements. Customised or made-to-order items can be quoted case by case.
Yes. The stainless steel balls are supplied anywhere between 10 mm and 15.8 mm, and the sizes named on this product — 10, 10.5, 11, 11.1 and 11.5 mm — are simply the ones ordered most often. Tell us the diameter you need and we will confirm it against the grade and the bore you have in mind. Larger and smaller diameters outside this band are handled as drilled work rather than stock.
Whichever your drawing asks for. These are solid spheres rather than hollow stainless steel balls, so a blind bore stops inside solid material and the ball keeps its mass behind the thread, while a through bore gives you a pin that can pass right through and be retained at both ends. Through bores are the more common request because they are easier to clean and to inspect; blind bores are chosen where you want a closed outer face.
Treat it as a locating, pivot or clamping element rather than a rolling load-bearing ball. These are solid spheres rather than hollow stainless steel balls, but cutting a bore still takes material out of the section that would otherwise carry the load, and the austenitic grade is not through-hardened, so a heavily loaded application will deform it long before a hardened bearing ball would. If the ball has to carry real load, a chromium steel ball of the same diameter is the right part, and we can quote both so you can compare.
Yes. This diameter band is used for ball valve balls, pump parts and sprayer elements, either plain or with a bore through them. Specify 316 where the media contains chlorides or dilute acids and 304 where it is water, air or a general fluid. If you are sizing a replacement, send the seat diameter and the media and we will confirm the grade and finish to match the original part.
The outside of the ball keeps its bright polished surface, and the edge around the bore is dressed and re-polished so nothing catches on it. Inside the bore you will see a machined surface with fine turning marks — that is normal on a drilled and tapped part and does not affect fit or thread strength. Where the ball is a visible component, order the polished version and let us know it is decorative so the outer face is handled accordingly.
Our documentation for this line covers ISO and RoHS. We do not publish food-contact or medical-grade approval for it, so if your application needs either, tell us before the order is placed and we will confirm what documentation is available for the grade and finish you need. For general industrial, hardware and tooling use the standard 304 or 316 ball is the normal choice.
