Steel: the most important alloy used in our galaxy, and beyond. Steel is used all throughout the galaxy in Star Wars. The characters don’t find the alloy aesthetically pleasing, so they use it to protect their military towers and as combat armour. They also use steel in their industrial areas. Steel was the basic variant of the alloy that was used in Cloud City’s freezing chambers.

Steel is used to build, serve and protect in both this world and others. Here are the other variants of the basic steel, and how they are used in a galaxy, far, far away.

Quadanium

Source: From Star Wars to Indiana Jones: The Best of the Lucasfilm Archives

The hull of the Death Star was made from rectangular plates of this type of steel. It was first identified as Quadanium in Tarkin. Quadanium steel is extremely durable, which is why it was used in the construction of both the first and second death star. The planet Despayre was the source of Quadanium steel used for the construction of the first death star. ‘Quadanium’ is actually a registered trademark within the Empire. The TIE/LN starfighter was also made from Quadanium steel as were all of its descendants.

Ceramasteel

Ceramasteel was used on the planet Zeta 0-9. It was used in the construction of an underwater base. Ceramasteel is a hard, metal compound, known to be able to withstand the pressures of the deepest waters. Unfortunately, Ceramasteel was not able to protect the base from a barrage of concussion missiles. The missiles compromised the structural integrity of the Ceramasteel and the base exploded.

Durasteel

Source: Star Wars: Galactic Defense

Durasteel is perhaps the most versatile of all types of steel in our favourite galaxy. It was used in everything from combat armour to building structures. It is more resistant than basic steel, but less strong than titanium. Durasteel served to protect against kinetic damage, so it played an important role in defending military towers.

Qui-Gon Jinn said that “when processed, ore becomes durasteel, which is used to make buildings and defenses strong.”

Durasteel is found in the Calcoraan Depot, the handcuffs that captured Denetrius Vidian, and on the catwalk of the starship Forager. Darth Vader’s armour is made up mostly of durasteel.

Just as with the type of steel used by ShapeCUT, durasteel has a high strength to weight ratio and can withstand extreme temperatures and enormous stress, even when cut thin.

Suprasteel and transparisteel

Produced on the planet Bescane, suprasteel is used to create starships and military bases. Transparisteel is transparent, and used to make windows and viewports on TIE/LN starfighters. It also made cockpit canopies, providing extra protection than glass, but less clarity.

If you’re in this galaxy, use ShapeCUT for steel cutting in Brisbane. We know our steel like we know our Star Wars.