steel processing Archives | Page 2 of 4 | National Material Company

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 […]

15 06, 2020

How to Choose Your Toll Processor

andre2020-07-15T20:49:18+00:00June 15th, 2020|News Blog, NMC Media|

Toll Processing and Cost Efficiency

Toll processing can be defined as performing a service on a customer’s product for a fee. In other words, the steel mill, end-user, or trading partner will make or purchase the material and ship the product to a processing facility. The processor will then work the material according to the customer specifications, then deliver the processed material to the destination directed by the customer.

The concept of outsourcing business support is a trend that is gaining in popularity. Company owners are making the decision to utilize toll processors primarily because it’s cost efficient. A materials processing service provider can move a project from the development stage all the way to full scale production. Also, a growing business might lack the facilities, manpower, storage space, or time required to process the necessary materials for their products, leading to shortfalls in efficiency and delivery. Additionally, toll processing service centers have experience and have made significant investments in equipment that can help take a project from concept to completion seamlessly.

Toll Processors as Consultants and Other Benefits of Toll Processing

As mentioned above, most companies choose to use a toll processor for cost efficiency. However, there are many additional benefits of having your steel products processed by a toll processing company. For example, toll processing companies can be very good consultants. Typically a “toller“ has processed a wide variety of materials under many conditions. This experience has curated a wealth of knowledge concerning the many twists and turns associated with processing various materials. Toll processors can offer the contracting company important information, including anticipating potential challenges that might be encountered when processing specific types of material. This information can prove very valuable in helping you to decide the best method in reaching your goals for a given size distribution, moisture content, or quality control procedure.

Other benefits of toll processing:

Faster time to completion.
Opportunity to expand your network by working with experienced professionals.
No capital investment or depreciation.
No detailed engineering requirements.
No floor space required.
No maintenance requirement.
No spare parts requirement.
No additional personnel required.
No new permits required for dust house discharge.
Quick turnaround times/no extended lead time for delivery or installation.
No advanced engineering skills necessary.
No additional permits.
No equipment-related maintenance expenses.
Freedom to adjust production levels at any time.

National Material Company: The Right Toll Processor for You

When looking for a company to contract with, consider a few key factors. Your chosen toll processor will become the link between you, your customers, and your product – a choice to not be taken lightly. Select a company that will not only make your manufacturing processes easier, but also a company that can reduce risk, add to your bottom line, and put you ahead of the competition. Your toll processor should have supply chain management experience, and have a quality assurance program and control procedures in place.

National Material Company (NMC) […]

14 05, 2020

EDI – Value-Added Benefits in the Steel Industry

Patton Quinn2020-05-14T15:52:23+00:00May 14th, 2020|News Blog|

If your company takes part in supply chain processes, then you know how easy it is to lose control of the entire document flow and how important it is to have real-time access to reliable information regarding the delivery process. In traditional methods of business to business (b2b) communication, misunderstandings can often occur. Often, these misunderstandings are regarding collection and loading time, load capacity, product specificity, how the goods were packed and sent, and status of delivery. Manual entry data can result in incorrect documents, invoice totals can be erroneously entered, inaccurate invoice information can delay payment date, and delay receiving money to buy raw materials. Paper documents can become lost or filed in the wrong file and thus be difficult to find. Electronic data interchange, or, EDI, optimizes data exchange and management, and improves b2b communication and processes. EDI includes payment, invoices, delivery confirmation, delivery, packing, and ordering.

Like many other early information technologies, EDI was inspired by developments in military logistics. The complexity of military operations that required vast quantities of data and information about transported goods inspired the first innovations in large-scale communication, which later shaped the first TDCC (Transportation Data Coordinating Committee) standards in the United States. Among the first integrated systems using EDI were Freight Control Systems. An example of this is the London Airport Cargo EDP Scheme (LACES) at Heathrow Airport, London, in which a modem-like system would forward information to agents who would directly enter information into the customs processing system, reducing the time for clearance.

EDI provides a technical basis for automated commercial “conversations” between two entities, either internal or external. The term EDI encompasses the entire electronic data interchange process, including the transmission, message flow, document format, and software used to interpret the documents. EDI is the computer-to-computer exchange of business documents in a standard electronic format between business partners.

Each term in the definition is significant:

● Computer-to-computer – EDI replaces postal mail, fax, and email. While email is also an electronic approach, the documents exchanged via email must still be handled by people rather than computers. Having people involved slows down the processing of the documents and also introduces errors. Instead, EDI documents can flow straight through to the appropriate application on the receiver’s computer (e.g., the Order Management System) and processing can begin immediately.
● Business documents – These are any of the documents that are typically exchanged between businesses. The most common documents exchanged via EDI are purchase orders, invoices, and advance ship notices. But there are many, many others such as bills of lading, customs documents, inventory documents, shipping status documents, and payment documents.
● Standard format – Because EDI documents must be processed by computers rather than humans, a standard format must be used so that the computer will be able to read and understand the documents. A standard format describes what each piece of information […]

14 04, 2020

Automotive Steel Processing: AHSS and Galvanized Steel

Patton Quinn2020-05-14T15:38:03+00:00April 14th, 2020|News Blog|

Steel continues to be the frontrunner when it comes to car manufacturing because of its strong and dependable nature. According to worldsteel.org, there are several benefits of using steel in automotive production. Steel:

● Contains recycled steel and is endlessly recyclable.
● Has lower CO2 life cycle emissions than any other automotive material.
● Enables engineering of crash-resistant structures.
● Is a higher strength steel that enables lightweight vehicle construction that is stronger, safer, and more fuel-efficient
● Enables creative, flexible designs.
● Is easy to repair with existing techniques and equipment, making repairs more affordable.
● Is cost efficient compared to all other structural materials.

There are several common uses for steel in an automotive vehicle. Most of this steel is found in the skeletal body of the vehicle, often called the “body in white,” which is the foundation from which the rest of the vehicle is created.

Bumpers and Reinforcements

Bumpers are some of a vehicle’s first defenses against any major impact, thus they demand a very high level of force absorption. The durability and crash resistance of high strength steels make it a great option for bumper systems. Further driving its use is the ability to employ a thinner steel, promoting additional weight savings. UHSS bumpers are typically roll formed. For more detailed information on steel bumper systems for passenger cars and light trucks, visit this website: https://www.a-sp.org/-/media/doc/smdisteel/bumpers/smdi-steel-bumper-systems-manual-6th-edition—january-2019—final.ashx

There are many other areas of a car that need strong reinforcement. Sill reinforcements and cross-members, for instance, both require high energy absorption. Stiffness can be maintained when transitioning to thinner panels by changing the geometry of the parts. High strength steels are well suited for these forming challenges, with the reduced thickness leading to a lighter weight part.

Door Beams and Seating

Again, weight savings are a major consideration here. Side impact beams are now commonly made using the highest strength steels, leading to both increased safety and lighter weight products. While seats are not traditionally considered part of the Body-in-White, they are some of the heaviest items in a passenger vehicle. As such, they are prime candidates for lightweighting using high strength and durable steels.

Chassis and Frames

High-strength steel benefits the entire frame’s support capabilities. The chassis is subject to some of the most extreme stresses seen on any of a car’s parts, so it needs excellent fatigue resistance properties – such as those found in high-quality steel. Using high strength, high formability steels allows the vehicle designer the flexibility to create lightweight complex shapes while maintaining the structural integrity demanded by the application.

Advanced High Strength Steel

Forbes.com recently cited that […]

12 03, 2020

What is Roll Forming?

Nathalia and Jorge2021-02-08T18:27:20+00:00March 12th, 2020|News Blog|

Roll forming is a continuous process which converts sheet metal into an engineered shape using consecutive sets of mated rolls, each of which makes only incremental changes in the form. The sum of these small changes in form is a complex profile.

The Forming Process

In conventional stamping the entire part is formed all at the same time. The part shape – and especially how complex it can be is limited when the strains from forming exceed what the metal is capable of achieving before splitting. In roll formed parts, only a small amount of forming strain is put into the part during each station and even here, only a small section is bent at any given time. Because of this, more complex shapes can be achieved with an appropriately designed roll forming process.

In the forming process, a coil or long individual strips are fed through a roll forming line which converts the flat sheet to a contoured cross-sectional profile. The unique aspect of this approach is the use of consecutive forming stations, each of which nudges the metal towards the desired shape. Based on the targeted profile, a computer calculates the optimal placing and shape of the rollers for maximum efficiency and designs the track. The more advanced the desired shape, the more rollers the material goes through. The roll forming line can bend metal, form metal into tubes, create metal maze-like structures, and punch the metal with holes during the process.

The rollers are precision-contoured metal dies that shape the incoming sheet metal. In most cases, they are also the powered drive rolls that pull the strip through the roll forming unit. These rollers can be as simple as the cylindrical rollers used to roll luggage through airport scanners, or they can take on more intricate shapes. After the final forming station, the strip is sheared to the ordered product length. Typically, no additional work is needed before shipment, since the final form has been achieved.

Advantages of the Roll Forming Process

There are a variety of advantages to roll forming. Because of the “assembly line” efficiency of roll forming, long lengths of metal can be produced and cut in large quantities, which reduces cost. Secondary processes such as punching or even welding can be integrated into a single production line. The profiles that can be produced using roll formed sheet steel are similar to what is seen in extruded aluminum.

The roll forming process makes creating lighter-weight steel parts easier compared to other shaping processes, since the wall thickness can be targeted based on the structural needs of the component. Parts can be rolled even if a finish or paint has been applied. While hot forming can produce similarly complex profiles, roll forming is a room temperature process. As […]

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