About Steel Service Centers and Steel Service Center
Including: Aluminized
Steel, Cold
Rolled Steel, I
Beams, Steel
Plate, Steel
Tubing & Structural
Steel.
Steel service centers are facilities that purchase
manufactured steel and resell the steel after processing it. A steel
service center will often purchase bulk quantities of steel from steel
mills, facilities in which the steel is initially manufactured. A variety
of operations are performed to prepare it for future use. These operations
include cutting, shearing, grinding and numerous other finishing processes.
When the steel service centers complete the necessary operations, the
centers offer the processed steel to steel production plants and manufacturers,
where it is assembled into product components and, finally, completed
products. The most common feature of steel service centers is the production
of various types of steel. Each type, from alloy to cold-rolled, is suited
for specific purposes, such as for use in the building of simple furniture
or as the structural bases of buildings and bridges.
Stainless steel
is the most common type of steel manufactured by steel service centers.
This steel is widely used because of its corrosion resistance and durability.
The food service industries use stainless steel to ensure freshness and
quality of product. Because of these unique features, stainless steel
is more costly and in demand. Many other steel alloys with various properties of strength, malleability and corrosion resistance are treated at stainless steel service centers, including aluminized steel, carbon steel and specialty steel alloys such as maraging steel, which has ultra-high strength and toughness as well as malleability. Like other types of steel, steel service
centers are capable of manipulating stainless steel to meet specifications.
Many steel service centers have the ability to bend or weld the steel.
Certain types of steel handle this manipulation better than others, so
consult with the steel service centers regarding the best steel type
for the application.
Steel service centers provide many benefits to the customers to whom
the steel is sold. A steel service center can add value to the steel
by fixing deformations found during inspection and reducing the number
of finishing operations required of fabricators and manufacturers. Steel
service centers also make use of more material, thus reducing scrap.
In addition, because the steel service center store and process less
material than steel mills do, labor and maintenance costs remain low.
Because of the benefits steel service centers provide, a number of industries
purchase steel from service centers. The construction, automotive, electronics,
shipbuilding and aerospace industries are some of the most common industries
that utilize steel service centers. When selecting steel service centers,
consider the type of steel the center processes, the form in which the
steel is available and the operations the center performs on the steel.
Also keep in mind the steel service centers ability to recycle and reuse
old steel parts and unused scrap from other manufacturing operations.
Types of Steel Service Centers
-
contains elements other than carbon, such as chromium, manganese, et
cetera. Alloy steels have a higher tensile strength, corrosion and oxidation
resistance and ductility than carbon steel does.
- is a metal sheet that has been coated with an aluminum alloy.
-
is steel in its basic form, primarily consisting of iron and carbon.
Carbon steel makes up the majority of steel produced and is common in
almost every industry because of its high strength, although, it has
a low resistance to corrosion.
-
is steel that has been shaped without the application of heat. Cold
steel has a smooth surface texture and is common in light-duty furniture
and objects not needing the strength required of structural steel.
- are steel beams shaped like majuscule letter I's that are used in construction.
-
is steel that has been flat rolled, as opposed to steel in section form,
and maintains a certain amount of thickness that is based on plate width.
Plate steel is commonly used in construction and engineering
- ,
also referred to as "chromium steel," is the most common type
of steel manufactured by steel service centers. This corrosion resistant
material is preferred in the food and medical industries.
-
are round structures used in numerous applications to transport fluids
and to provide structural support to bridges, buildings and stairs.
Steel pipes maintain high strength and uniform thickness in rough industrial
applications.
- provide support to railing, ladders, poles and exercise equipment
and provide strong protection to conductors and wiring. Steel tubing
varies in shape and wall thickness.
- ,
also referred to as "plate steel," is low carbon steel containing
manganese, which is commonly used in the engineering and construction
industry for the production of buildings, bridges and transportation
equipment. Structural steel has been hot rolled, often has a rough surface
texture and includes steel beams.
- consists
of iron and alloys of chromium and other elements to improve steel properties,
such as corrosion resistance. Tool steel is used in the production of
hand and power tools.
Steel Service Centers Terms
-
Also called "self-hardening," it is steel that is hardened through
air cooling to reduce possible deformation.
- A
semi-finished steel form with a rectangular cross-section that is more
than 8". This large cast steel shape is broken down in the mill to
produce the familiar I-beams, H-beams and sheet piling.
-
The application of carbon to a low-carbon steel surface to increase the
strength of the steel. Carburizing is achieved through heating the steel
in a substance containing carbon, followed by hardening the steel through
heating and quenching the steel.
-
A method of steel formation in which a part is formed by the shaping of
a molten material in a mould is commonly used for more specific parts.
Casting is not used for the general production of steel types.
-
A solid material that consists of a combination of two or more constituents,
in which the individual components retain their separate identities.
- Surface
of steel that has a different composition than the original makeup resulting
from the application at elevated temperatures of carbon, nitrogen or another
element.
-
Steel treatment resulting in a steel surface hardness greater than that
of the internal region of the steel.
- Metal deformation
process in which the metal is subjected to temperatures low enough to
prevent re-crystallization of the metal during cooling.
- The
internal region of a steel part that remains unaffected by case hardening.
- The process whereby steel loses carbon from the steel surface
layer due to contact with a chemical substance. Decarburization reduces
steel hardness and strength.
-
The ability of steel to accept deformation without fracturing. Ductility
is a notable benefit of alloy steel.
-
The rolling of the edge of steel to smooth edges, which would be damaging
or minimize functionality of a piece.
-
A steel production process in which steel is heated, pressed and shaped
into the required form.
-
Steel heat treatment performed to refine grain size and to alleviate stress
in the interior by heating the steel to temperatures ranging from approximately
800°C to 900°C (1472°-1652° F) and air cooling the steel.
-
Rapidly cooling a metal from a high temperature.
- Steel rejected by the first customer due to flaws, at which point
the steel manufacturer or steel company must find another buyer.
- A class of steels including stainless, tool, alloy and silicon
electrical steels, as opposed to carbon steel.
- The extent to which steel or another substance can accept bending
or stretching without fracturing.
-
The applied stress at which irreversible plastic deformation is first
observed across the sample is called the yield stress, usually represented
as sy.