Steel processing manual

Iron products evolved during this time, beginning with blacksmiths producing wrought iron goods. These tradespeople learned to heat up iron ore, and using a hammer-and-anvil process, the blacksmiths would remove impurities from the metal and produce a durable and malleable final iron product. Iron took a few other forms before eventually arriving at what is today considered steel.

In China, Iron Age metallurgists heated up iron in large furnaces, effectively melting the substance into liquid and mixing it with the wood fuel. The melted liquid would then be poured into molds, which would then be left to harden, eventually taking the shape of cooking tools and other objects from the molds. This process, known as cast iron, produced a more durable product than wrought iron, but it was brittle, making it difficult to shape and bend.

In India, ironworkers developed an iron smelting process that combined the perfect ratio of iron to carbon. Using crucibles, or clay containers, the ironworkers would blend iron and charcoal pieces together in a high-temperature furnace. While cooking, the iron would melt and absorb carbon atoms from the charcoal.

After cooling down, the crucibles contained what we now know as steel — an iron-carbon alloy. After the discovery of iron-carbon alloys, various civilizations began to scale up their steel-production practices, allowing them to make improved weapons, tools and structures. Since the Iron Age, humans have looked to perfect the steel manufacturing process, not only to produce it in greater quantities but to produce it more effectively.

Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. By Terence Bell Terence Bell. Learn about our Editorial Process. Featured Video. View Article Sources. Cite this Article Format. Bell, Terence. The Modern Steel Manufacturing Process. Other services that can be added while processing in our service centers are beading sheets and adding strippable.

Some of Pacesetters outside processors can perform additional processes such as embossing, perforating and prepainting. Slitting steel is, essentially, a cutting process. Large rolls or coils of steel are cut lengthwise to create strips of metal that are narrower than the original in width. Another basic processing application is blanking.

A blanking line will uncoil the material, level it, and cut it to a specified length and width. As a result, a blank normally goes directly into the manufacturing process without being re-sheared. In order to achieve the desired tolerance, blanking lines utilize a close tolerance feed system, side trimmers and in-line slitters. Cut-to-length lines are generally thought of as systems that produce sheets.

Sheets are cut to a standard size and typically re-sheared at the end user. In order to achieve flatness tolerances, cut-to-length equipment needs to have precision corrective levelers. These levelers elongate the steel beyond its yield point the amount of stress the steel can take at the onset of permanent deformation in order to remove internal stresses and produce a flat sheet. The most common method of perforating metal uses a rotary pinned perforation roller.

This is a large cylinder with sharp, pointed needles on the outside to punch holes into the metal.