The refinement process of modern metals has changed slightly over the years. There are still the same basic principles that apply whenever metal is being fabricated for industry. Here is an overview of the steps that are required in order to ready the raw materials for your use.
Salvaging Source Materials
Metals can be found for processing in a variety of ways. Mining is the most common option for many types of source material. Another method to obtain the metal for fabrication is through the salvaging of recycled materials. This method is more environmentally friendly and cuts down on the amount of processing that’s required to complete your job. Steel is an alloy material of iron and carbon, which is what lends the material its strength.
Processing Options
The raw iron is smelted in a blast furnace in order to remove some of the other impurities that may exist within the material. Even with recycled materials, this process is still utilized. The carbon is added at a less than 1% concentration for typical types of steel. This is the component that gives the resultant from the steel fabrication process the tensile strength that’s required in order to make it work for your industry. Other components may also be added in order to change the nature of your final product.
Machining versus Welding
Even after the steel is created, there are a variety of ways that can be utilized to create the products that are used in industry. The typical methods for forming are either machining the product or through the use of welding. Machining generally occurs by bending and shaping the product as close as possible to its final form. Welding works by combining smaller segments into larger parts of the whole. The type of production will depend on the final use of the product for your customer.
Forming Final Product
For some industrial applications, the ingot is what you’ll see leaving the fabrication facility. This allows you to have more flexibility in regards to the final product. To make this form usable for your industry, you need to have the ability to extrude the steel into its final form. Another benefit to this type of fabrication is that you can get exactly the type of product that you require for your industrial application.
Steel is versatile and can be used in a variety of industries. These are the basic means that it can be created in order to work for the needs of your business.