More about Steel Fabrication
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You hear about steel all the time. Your sinks are stainless steel, your car is made of steel, and every time you are under the impression that steel is a strong, durable material. What, though, is steel, and how is it fabricated? Who makes it and who is using it? The steel fabrication process, its uses, and development of modern steels are complex subjects, but may be explained simply.
Steel is an alloy, which is a mixture of several metals. Iron and carbon are the main ingredients, with small amounts of sulphur, phosphorus, silicon, and oxygen. Steel must contain less than 2% carbon and 1% manganese. The first process for properly smelting steel was invented in 1856 by a British inventor named Henry Bessemer.
Steel fabrication is an interesting process. There are basically two ways in which steel fabrication takes place. First is the raw material approach, also called the integrated route. Approximately 60% of steel fabrication takes place this way. Basically, the materials are heated up, melted down, and mixed into steel.
The other way is actually easier and much quicker, which is the electric arc furnace (EAF) method of steel fabrication. In this method, recycled steel is put into a furnace and melted down. Once mixed with some other materials, steel is the end product. A little more than a third of steel fabrication takes place using the EAF method.
No matter what the method, steel fabrication is hot, difficult work. China produces the most tons of crude steel annually. It makes since, though, since they also consume the most steel each year. This can be attributed in large part to their vehicle production.
Though the steel fabrication process is basically the same, there is not just one type of steel. There are over 3,000 types, in fact. Each has properties, such as physical, chemical, and environmental. Engineers are continually developing new types of steel even now to fit various needs in our modern world.
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