steel blanking Archives | National Material Company

26 04, 2021

What is Steel Processing? The Processes That Shape and Support our World

andre2021-04-26T16:18:27+00:00April 26th, 2021|News Blog, NMC Media|

It is easy to take the miracle of mass-produced steel for granted. Just in 2019, 1869.9 million tons (Mt) of steel rolled out of facilities and into our appliances, cars, planes, buildings, roads, and beyond. Yet, the steel processing that we enjoy today has been a work in progress for centuries, a work that, today, is evolving towards greener, more eco-friendly production.

What steps go into the processes that shape and support our world?

Raw Materials:

As has been done in the past, much of today’s steel processing begins with mined raw materials: iron ore, coal, and limestone. The molten iron produced from these initial materials are transformed into steel using a basic oxygen furnace or a modern electric arc furnace

However, the steel industry’s commitment to green processes means that every year in the United States, 70 million tons of steel are recycled, producing astonishing energy and raw material savings by the American Steel industry. According to World Steel, “A basic oxygen furnace can be charged with as much as 30% steel scrap. An electric furnace can be charged with 100% steel scrap. On average, new steel products contain 37% recycled steel.”

Refining, Adjusting, and Casting:

After the production of molten steel, a flurry of different processes can be applied, the most basic of which is when elements are either added or taken away to manipulate the final characteristics of the steel. Currently there are over 3,000 steel grades, each with a different balance of elements and heating adjustments to produce the desired properties. This includes the advanced high-strength steel grades.

When finished undergoing secondary steel making processes, molten steel is cast into “semifinished” billet, bloom, or slabs preparing the steel for its final physical shape.

Forming, Fabricating, and Finishing:

Afterwards, steel processing service centers take steel billets, blooms, and slabs and create deliverable steel products. This includes forming steel through hot rolling and cold rolling, and applying processes such as:

Steel Blanking
Steel Pickling
Steel Slitting
Shearing
Leveling
Milling
Saw Cutting
Drilling
Flame Cutting
Tumbler
Burning

The steel service centers then deliver the steel to final manufacturers who will transform it into a final, consumer product such as automobiles and appliances.

Coming full circle:

As mentioned earlier, The EPA estimates that nearly 70% of U.S. steel is recycled, meaning that the life cycle and processing of steel never truly ends, but begins again to create a healthier environmental future.

About NMC’s parent company: NMLP

Since its founding in 1964, National Material Limited Partnership (NMLP) has grown to over 30 business units and is now one of the largest suppliers of steel in North America. The National Material group of industrial businesses consists of the Steel Group, Stainless and Alloys Group, Raw Material Trading Group, Aluminum Group, and Related Operations.

Become an NMC customer today! Visit NMC at www.nationalmaterial.com. You can contact sales via our website or call us at 847-806-7200.

26 10, 2020

Steel Services and Pre-painted Steel: Over 50 Years of Steel Processing Expertise

andre2020-10-26T18:27:08+00:00October 26th, 2020|News Blog|

As a leader in supply-chain management, optimal supply solutions, process & product analysis, just-in-time inventory, and customized solutions to meet customer needs, National Material Company is the ideal choice for any customer in search of the best experience possible. A committed workforce, state-of-the-art processing equipment and warehouse storage capabilities make NMC the company to count on for future success. Locations throughout the U.S. offer a logistic advantage resulting in a more efficient service to conserve our customer’s most valuable resource: cost.

National Material Company not only provides the best practices in the industry, but also offers insights into transforming process into profit. NMC creates value through seamlessly integrating improvements at every step: from initial value engineering to final product delivery. That means if there is a way to improve quality and efficiency, NMC will help you find it.

It’s no wonder that their clients report significant savings as a result of the NMC’s VA/VE insights.
National Material Company’s steel processing services include pre-painted steel, slitting, blanking, cut-to-length, leveling, export packaging, rail and barge shipping and receiving, scrap programs, configured blanks, stamping press tooling needs, complete mechanical and metallurgical testing/metallurgical technical services, pickling, oiling, and dry-lube and hot dipped galvanizing. Client: Leading manufacturer of HVAC and refrigeration compressors
Savings: $475K annually
NMC Contribution: Increased material utilization and reducing scrap by purchasing wider pre-painted steel master coils and improved nesting configurations.

Client: Large producer of recreational vehicles
Savings: $1 Million
NMC Contribution: Modification in purchasing to acquire fully finished, pre-painted master coils.

Client: Large refrigeration tubing company
Savings: $1 Million
NMC Contribution: Leveraged National Material Company’s global sourcing capabilities combined with their in-house metallurgical expertise to develop a specialty cold rolled steel. Client: Producer of extruded aluminum roll-up awning tubes
Savings: $750K
NMC Contribution: Introduced a highly flexible paint system continuously coil-coated over a formable hot dip galvanized grade of flat rolled steel.

Client: Leading manufacturer of HVAC and refrigeration compressors
Savings: $1.5 Million
NMC Contribution: Leveraged National Material Company’s logistics capabilities. The steel for this application is now melted, hot rolled, pickled/lubed, and circle blanked all within the same state prior to being delivered to our customer’s plant location.

Client: Garage door manufacturer
Savings: $100,000 annually
NMC Contribution: Developed a special grade of hot dip galvanized steel.

Why National Material Company?

It is the appreciation of all moving parts that will make a client’s final product a commercial success. With expert supply chain management, just-on time delivery, and access to all the right partnerships, NMC can deliver the right steel at the right time. About National Material L.P. – Since its founding in 1964, National Material Limited Partnership has grown to over 30 business units and is now one of the largest suppliers of steel in America. The National Material group of industrial businesses consists of the Steel Group, Stainless and Alloys Group, Raw Material Trading Group, Aluminum Group, and Related Operations.

Please visit us at www.nationalmaterial.com or call (U.S.) 847-806-7200 to discuss how we can be of service.

15 07, 2020

Steel Breakdown: Types, Classifications, and Numbering Systems

andre2020-07-15T20:37:01+00:00July 15th, 2020|News Blog|

In this blog, we will take an in-depth look at some of the most common categories of steel, what makes them different, and what to consider when deciding which type of steel is right for you.

Four Types of Steel

According to the American Iron & Steel Institute (AISI), steel can be categorized into four basic groups based on the chemical compositions:
1. Carbon steel
2. Alloy steel
3. Stainless steel
4. Tool steel

All steel is composed of iron and carbon. It is the amount of carbon, and the additional alloys, that determine the properties of each grade. There are many different grades of steel that encompass varied properties. These properties can be physical, chemical, and environmental. Let’s take a closer look!

Carbon steels contain trace amounts of alloying elements and account for 90% of total steel production. Carbon steels can be further categorized into three groups depending on their carbon content:

● Low carbon steels/mild steels contain up to 0.3% carbon
● Medium carbon steels contain 0.3-0.6% carbon
● High carbon steels contain more than 0.6% carbon

Alloy steels contain alloying elements (e.g. manganese, silicon, nickel, titanium, copper, chromium, and aluminum) in varying proportions in order to manipulate the steel’s properties, such as its hardenability, corrosion resistance, strength, formability, weldability, or ductility. Applications for alloy steels include pipelines, auto parts, transformers, power generators, and electric motors.

Stainless steels generally contain between 10-20% chromium as the main alloying element and are valued for high corrosion resistance. With over 11% chromium, stainless steel is about 200 times more resistant to corrosion than mild steel. These steels can be divided into three groups based on their crystalline structure:

Austenitic: Austenitic steels are non-magnetic and non-heat-treatable, and generally contain 18% chromium, 8% nickel, and less than 0.8% carbon. Austenitic steels form the largest portion of the global stainless steel market and are often used in food processing equipment, kitchen utensils, and piping.
Ferritic: Ferritic steels contain trace amounts of nickel, 12-17% chromium, less than 0.1% carbon, along with other alloying elements, such as molybdenum, aluminum, or titanium. These magnetic steels cannot be hardened by heat treatment but can be strengthened by cold working.

Martensitic: Martensitic steels contain 11-17% chromium, less than 0.4% nickel, and up to 1.2% carbon. These magnetic and heat-treatable steels are used in knives and cutting tools, as well as dental and surgical equipment.

Tool steels contain tungsten, molybdenum, cobalt, and vanadium in varying quantities to increase heat resistance and durability, making them ideal for cutting and drilling equipment.
Steel products can also be divided by their shapes and related applications:

Long/tubular products: These include bars and rods, rails, wires, angles, pipes, and shapes and sections. These products are commonly used in the automotive and construction sectors.

Flat products: These include plates, sheets, coils, and strips. These materials are mainly used in automotive parts, appliances, packaging, shipbuilding, and construction.
Other products include valves, fittings, and flanges and are mainly used as piping materials.

Classifications

Types of steel can […]

22 07, 2019

An Overview of U.S. Steel Service Center National Material L.P.

marshall2019-09-12T18:26:00+00:00July 22nd, 2019|News Blog|

You know National Material Company as a company that specializes in supplying, servicing and processing steel with unmatched efficiency. We operate steel processing facilities and service centers throughout the U.S. and Mexico to serve your manufacturing needs in a wide variety of markets.

But the full scope of NMC’s parent company, National Material L.P, is much larger. NMLP and its affiliates have a long history of quality and service dating back to 1964. NMLP serves many industries throughout the globe and is one of the largest suppliers of steel in America. With over 30 business units, this families’ capabilities go beyond just steel service.

Here, we will provide a brief overview of National Material’s family of companies, separated into six categories – steel service centers, steel processing facilities, stainless steel and alloy manufacturing, aluminum manufacturing, raw material trading, and related operations.

Steel Service Centers

The NMLP Steel Group includes National Material Company, National Material of Mexico, and Interstate Steel Company. Together, these three companies have made NMLP a well-recognized leader servicing the needs of the steel industry and leading industrial and consumer product manufacturers by means of nineteen specialized processing facilities located throughout North America.

National Material Company, LLC

National Material Company operates ten steel service facilities and is the family’s premiere steel manufacturer in the U.S. NMC specializes in supplying, servicing and processing the following: Hot Rolled, Cold Rolled and Cold Rolled Motor Lamination Steel, Oriented and Non-Oriented Electrical Steel, and Galvanized, Galvannealed, Aluminized and other coated metals.

National Material de Mexico

National Material of Mexico operates seven steel servicing locations between partners and wholly owned facilities. NMM is the premier processor in Mexico for a variety of steel products, from uncoated non-exposed to coated exposed carbon steel in slit, sheet or blank form, in all steel grades available on the market, including all types of AHSS steel grades.

Interstate Steel Company

Interstate Steel Company is a division of National Material Company and provides highly engineered pre-painted products. ISC also specializes in processed cold rolled & galvanized products. Interstate Steel’s capabilities include precision high speed slitting of surface critical products.

Steel Processing

National Material Processing, LLC

National Material Processing operates three slitting and two pickling and cut-to-length steel processing facilities and was the first steel processor to introduce a push-pull pickle line in the Indiana Harbor area. NMP specializes in the processing of heavy gauge, hot rolled carbon steel up to .500″ (1.27cm) thick and offers precision slitting, cut-to-length and advanced PRO-ECO, hydrochloric acid pickling services.

Interstate Steel Processing

Interstate Steel Processing (ISP) is a premier national distributor of flat rolled steel […]

28 06, 2018

Steel Service Snapshot: Advantages of Steel Blanking

Kelly Smith2018-07-11T17:44:32+00:00June 28th, 2018|News Blog, NMC Media|

The process of steel blanking has become prominent in the steel manufacturing industry because of its ability to make highly specialized parts that minimize waste and cost. With steel blanking, the goal is to use what is stamped/punched out rather than what is left after going through the die. Simply, the punched-out piece IS the part. Let’s look at how this process works, how it differs from other processes, and its overall benefits.

What is steel blanking?

Blanking is a steel manufacturing process in which a flat, geometric shape (or “blank”) is created by feeding a coil of sheet metal into a press and die. In this process the blank is punched out from large metal sheet. Here is visual depiction of this process:

Press Blanking machinery can typically process material up to 72 inches (1828mm) wide and .250 inches (6.35mm) thick from coils up to 80,000 lbs. Typically multiple sheets are blanked in a single operation and the blanked parts will require secondary finishing to smooth out burrs along the bottom edge.

How does steel blanking differ from other process?

Other, similarly natured processes include punching and piercing. Both remove material from a metal sheet but the end results differ from steel blanking.

Punching is also a material removal process but rather than the final product being the punched out material, like in blanking, metal is removed so that the sheet metal itself is the final product. An easy way to differentiate is to think of a piece of paper that you punch a hole through. Blanking uses the circular piece as the final product while punching uses the piece of paper with the hole in it as the final product.

Another similar process is piercing, in which a punch operation cuts a hole by tearing operation from a final piece of sheet metal. This is process is considered a blanking operation.

Steel Blanking Advantages

Steel blanking produces economical metal pieces that are customized to fit specific customer needs. In the blanking process the material is continually fed into the machine which leads toless setup and parts management. Simply, steel blanking allows you to make more with less.

This reduces waste significantly because the tools are typically designed to nest parts as close together as possible. Also, shipping costs are reduced by only sending the net weight and leaving the rest behind.

Industries that use steel blanking

Commonly, a press blanking line is designed to meet the high-quality demands of the automotive and fabricating industries. This includes suppliers of “surface exposed” panels and other auxiliary sectors. The industries that use blanking material will likely expand. This is due to the ability for blanks to adapt to the final shape of the part which appeals to a wide variety of industrial industries.

NMC’s Steel Blanking Capabilities

National Material is a steel service center that delivers comprehensive blanking consultation (see NMC’s blanking capabilities) (insert link: http://www.nationalmaterial.com/steel-processing-capabilities/blanking/) with designs beyond being “just a place that makes the part.” An essential part of quality blanking […]