Steel Service Centers

Steel Service Centers

Information about Steel Service Centers including: Aluminized Steel, Carbon Steel, Cold Rolled Steel, Galvanized Steel, High Strength Steel, Hot Rolled Steel, I Beams, Spring Steel, Steel Beams, Steel Plates, Steel Strip, Steel Tubing, Structural Steel & Tool Steel.

Steel service centers are a necessary component in the production process of steel goods.  They are used in many industries, including construction, automotive, electronics, shipbuilding and aerospace.  These service centers purchase various alloys of raw steel such as carbon steel, then process and treat them to fit the specific needs of their customers.  The purchased raw steel undergoes different processes in service centers, and manufacturers may choose from hot rolled steel, cold rolled steel or aluminized steel, among others. These processes yield various types of steel to fit the manufacturer's specific needs, which include high strength steel, spring steel and tool steel.  Steel service centers offer a large inventory of steel in different pre-made shapes, including I beams and steel beams, both types of structural steel, steel plates, steel strip, and steel tubing. Galvanized steel products are also available from manufacturers and service centers. Because these steel service centers have a large inventory of steel at all times, ready to process and ship, the manufacturers save time and money because they don't have to worry about housing the steel themselves.  Every single metal user in this country works with steel service centers at one time or another.

A large majority-70% of steel purchased by steel service centers-undergo some type of pre-production processing.  The steel is often aluminized, a cost-saving procedure where cold rolled carbon steel is hot-dipped in aluminum-silicon alloy that coats both sides of the sheet of metal.  After this process, the steel has the lower cost and lighter weight of steel, but the rust-resistant, conductive properties and smooth finish of aluminum.  Aluminizing steel takes on properties of both high strength aluminum and high strength steel, which are possessed by neither metal alone.  Steel may also go through a rolling process, through a pair of platens, or calenders, which compress and stretch the metal into an even grainflow through continuous rolling. Steel service centers will hot roll steel to obtain many different shapes but less structural integrity than cold rolled steel.  During this process, steel is heated past its recrystallization temperature, around 1650 degrees F, and pushed through rollers that squeeze the metal.  The steel becomes very pliable and easily movable when heated, and as it cools it has a long time to oxidize, causing it to become less smooth and take on a blue-grey finish.  For steel that needs to be strong and have much structural integrity, steel service centers use cold rolling, which is done at room temperature.  The steel is covered in oil, and the finished product is unoxidized.  The shape range is very limited because the steel is not heated anywhere near its melting point.  Both of these rolling processes are concerned with changing the material's mechanical properties rather than their shape.

After these pre-production processes take place, service centers offer a variety of different types of steel to meet manufacturer's different needs.  High strength steel (HSLA), which is optimal for transportation equipment because of its structural integrity, high carbon and lighter weight, is often cold rolled or put through a post-cold rolled process such as quenching (heating, then immersing the steel in cold water or oil for strengthening).  HSLA is alloyed with a number of metals, including copper, silicon, nickel chromium and phosphorus for greater resistance to corrosion, zirconium and calcium for shape control, and columbium, copper, vanadium and titanium for strengthening.  More alloying elements typically increase material production and costs.  Spring steel, a low-alloy, medium carbon steel with a high yield strength is hardened or tempered and often heat treated.  It is made with silicon and because of silicone's elastomeric properties, spring steel is used to make automobile parts, wire such as guitar strings, and springs.  Spring steel is an adequate choice for manufacturers who need a strong, heat and abrasion resistant metal to make tools or the molds for plastic injection molding.  It often contains additives such as cobalt and nickel to improve its performance under high temperatures, and its properties are increased through quenching in oil or air hardening.      

Steel service centers manufacture a number of different parts, including steel beams and I beams, which are structural steels that have been hot rolled and used in engineering and construction.  They also offer various steel plates, often stainless steel, which have a flat rolled finish and are hot rolled or pickled, which is a treatment used to clean and remove impurities on steel by applying sulfuric or hydrochloric acid to the surface.  Steel plates must have a thickness of 0.250 or more and are often used as flooring or for construction materials.  Steel service centers also produce a variety of steel tubing, which come in many different shapes and sizes and are made through a cold-worked metal spinning procedure.  They are used in almost every industry, including automotive, aircraft and construction, and they must meet tight specifications for their particular applications.  Service centers also manufacture steel strips, which are often purchased by roll form fabricators who use them for trim applications and construction.  Steel strips are cold or hot rolled and may be hardened, tempered or annealed.  Lastly, steel service may also provide specialized finishing services which include slitting, shearing, sawing, coil coating and cutting-to-length. The steel product is then packed and shipped to the manufacturer.   

Every steel product passing through a steel service center must be approved by the American Society for Testing and Materials, commonly referred to as ASTM, a non-profit organization dedicated to setting strict standards and ensuring the quality of products, materials systems and services, including all steel products, processes and materials.  The ASTM's annually-updated book of standards covers steel pipes, tubes and fittings, steel plates, steel for machine structural use and steel for special purposes.  More recently, the ASTM has developed new standards for annealed steel conductors.  By combining the standards of annealed copper clad steel wire and hard drawn concentric lay stranded copper clad steel conductors, ASTM will raise awareness about copper clad steel as an alternative to solid copper, increasing its production within Steel Service Centers.

Steel Service Center Images Provided by Block Steel Corp.

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Steel Types

• Alloy steel 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.
  
• Aluminized steel is a steel sheet that has been hot dip-coated with an aluminum silicon alloy.
  
• Aluminum steel is a metal sheet that has been coated with an aluminum alloy.
  
• Carbon steel is a metal alloy composed primarily of iron with carbon being the second largest component imparting hardness and strength at varying degrees dependent upon the amount present.
  
• Cold rolled steel 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.
  
• Galvanized steel articles are coated with one or more layers of zinc in order to improve strength and corrosion resistance in industrial, commercial and domestic applications where steel parts are exposed to corrosive materials or are in high use.
• High strength steel commonly refers to all steel other than mild low-carbon steel. It is known for its structural integrity, high carbon and lighter weight.
• Hot rolled steel undergoes a process involving large pieces of steel, which are heated above their recrystallization temperature and pushed between a set of rollers to form thin sheets which exhibit heavy thickness, high strength levels and good formability.
  
• I beams are steel beams shaped like majuscule letter I's that are used in construction.
  
• Plate steel 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
  
• Spring steel is a low alloy, medium carbon steel with a high yield strength. It is made with silicone, and therefore has elastomeric properties-it can bend and stretch, then return to its normal state.
  
• Stainless steel, 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.
  
• Steel beams, used in the construction and engineering industries, are key players in the construction of large structures such as buildings and bridges because they are able to hold up great force and weight without bending.
  
• Steel pipes 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.
  
• Steel plates are flat rolled, made of stainless steel, and manufactured in steel service centers.
• Steel strips are flat-rolled, very thin steel sheets used mostly in trim applications for the construction industry.
  
• Steel tubing and conduits 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.
  
• Structural steel, 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.
  
• Tool steel 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.
  

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Steel Service Center Terms

Air Hardening - Also called "self-hardening," it is steel that is hardened through air cooling to reduce possible deformation.

Bloom - 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.

Carburizing - 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.

Casting - 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.

Composite - A solid material that consists of a combination of two or more constituents, in which the individual components retain their separate identities.

Case - 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.

Case Hardening - Steel treatment resulting in a steel surface hardness greater than that of the internal region of the steel.

Cold Working - Metal deformation process in which the metal is subjected to temperatures low enough to prevent re-crystallization of the metal during cooling.

Core - The internal region of a steel part that remains unaffected by case hardening.

Decarburization - The process whereby steel loses carbon from the steel surface layer due to contact with a chemical substance. Decarburization reduces steel hardness and strength.

Ductility - The ability of steel to accept deformation without fracturing. Ductility is a notable benefit of alloy steel.

Edge Rolling - The rolling of the edge of steel to smooth edges, which would be damaging or minimize functionality of a piece.

Hot Rolling - A steel production process in which steel is heated, pressed and shaped into the required form.

Normalizing - 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.

Quenching - Rapidly cooling a metal from a high temperature.

Secondary Steel - Steel rejected by the first customer due to flaws, at which point the steel manufacturer or steel company must find another buyer.

Specialty Steel - A class of steels including stainless, tool, alloy and silicon electrical steels, as opposed to carbon steel.

Tensile Strength - The extent to which steel or another substance can accept bending or stretching without fracturing.

Yield Stress - The applied stress at which irreversible plastic deformation is first observed across the sample is called the yield stress, usually represented as sy.