Steel in its various types is a vital component of the United States economy. As of January , domestic steel production was at 1,928,000 tons &#; making steel one of the most widely consumed domestic manufacturing products. From buildings to medical equipment and vehicles, the world literally runs on steel products. But not all steel materials are made alike.
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There are multiple steel types and alloys that each have unique properties &#; making them each suited to specific production goals. Some steels are sturdy and heavy, while other steels are ductile and versatile.
Frequently, our customers approach us regarding the best type of steel for their application. We put together this quick guide to help you navigate the language of steel. Of course, you may still have questions regarding the application. Feel free to reach out to us with any unique property needs so that we can help you find the right steel and manufacturer for your needs.
Technically, carbon steel is a metal alloy that contains both iron and carbon. But in the manufacturing industry, carbon steel is often defined in multiple ways. Both of the following constitutes a &#;carbon steel&#; in the metals market.
You may also notice the term &#;carbon steel&#; applied to steels with less than 0.4% copper or steels that have certain magnesium to copper contents, though those definitions are contested across industries. For the purposes of this, we&#;re talking about the first two definitions.
There are three ways that carbon steel is classified &#; low, medium, and high
Low carbon steel (or &#;mild carbon steel&#; or &#;plain carbon steel&#;) refers to carbon steels that have up to 0.30% carbon content. This is, by far, the most common type of steel on the metals market. There are a few reasons for this. For starters, low carbon steel is relatively inexpensive. Also, since the carbon content is lower than medium and high steels, low carbon steel is easy to form and is perfect for applications where tensile strength isn&#;t an immediate issue, such as structural beams.
Another benefit of low carbon steel is that its properties can be improved relatively easily by adding additional elements, such as magnesium. Low carbon steel is also an ideal choice for carburizing, which improves case hardness without impacting ductility or toughness.
What are some common uses for low carbon steel?
Core properties of low carbon steel:
Medium carbon steel refers to carbon steels that have between 0.31% and 0.60% carbon content and between 0.31% and 1.60% magnesium. One of the biggest benefits of medium carbon steel is its strength. However, that comes with some tradeoffs. Medium carbon steel has low ductility and toughness &#; making it more difficult to form and weld.
What are some common uses for medium carbon steel?
Core properties of medium carbon steel:
High carbon steel refers to carbon steels that have between 0.61% and 1.50% carbon content and between 0.31 and 0.90 magnesium. When it comes to hardness and toughness, high carbon steel is the carbon steel of choice. However, this comes at a tradeoff. It&#;s very difficult to weld, cut, or form high carbon steel.
What are some common uses for high carbon steel?
Core properties of high carbon steel:
While carbon steel is typically defined by its carbon content, stainless steel is defined by its 10.5% minimum chromium content. Like carbon steel, stainless steel also contains carbon and iron, but the extra chromium is the key that gives it its unique properties. One of the biggest benefits of stainless steel is that it protects the steel for oxidization &#; which degrades metals over time. Stainless steel is also identified by its sheen, a property provided by the chromium. You will often see stainless steel utilized in cookware, knives, and medical equipment.
Like carbon steel, there are various types of stainless steel, each with a unique market price and properties.
Stainless steel austenitic alloys are, by far, the most common types of stainless steel metals on the market. They resist oxidation, provide a unique look, and are non-magnetic (though they can become magnetic in certain circumstances).
There are two common austenitic alloy grades:
Grades of austenitic alloys also include 301, 302, 303, 309, and 321.
Stainless steel ferritic alloys are another semi-common stainless steel alloy. Unlike austenitic alloys, they are magnetic &#; lending them to applications where magnetism is necessary. These are typically the cheapest stainless steel alloys due to their relatively low nickel content.
There are two common ferritic alloy grades:
Stainless steel martensitic alloys are the least common stainless steel alloy. These alloys have incredible hardiness and toughness, but they have poor oxidation properties, making them only suited for applications that require incredible hardiness.
There is one common martensitic alloy grade:
The widest and most diverse range of steel alloys is &#;alloy steels.&#; These are made by combining carbon steel with various alloying elements to provide unique properties to each steel. There is an incredibly wide range of alloy steels, but some of the most common include:
Due to the incredible variety of alloy steels, you can create steels with almost every possible property using alloy elements. That being said, some of these steels are relatively expensive.
The final steel group is tooling steels. These are steels used for tooling activities such as drilling. Commonly made up of molybdenum, vanadium, tungsten, and cobalt, tooling steels are heat-resistant, durable, and strong.
There are 6 grades of tool steel:
Staub Manufacturing offers services using most of the steels listed above. If your company needs best-fit steel parts to manufacture high-quality products, contact us. We&#;re American ISO : certified manufacturers who are ready to help you deliver superior fabricated steel products.
Quality control in steel products is extremely important. The steel fabrication process demands attention to detail and an understanding of the many variables that come into play.
When sourcing steel products from another country, you often have no control over the production process and must rely solely on your supplier. Steel inspections can help to reduce risks and ensure that the products meet your quality standards.
In light of this issue, we&#;ve created an insider guide from our clients&#; cases packed with steel quality inspection strategies to reduce your risks when you buy steel from China, India &#; or anywhere else in the world.
Why Is Steel Quality Inspection Important?
Quality inspections of steel products are important to ensure that the products you&#;re purchasing meet industry standards and customer-specific requirements. Steel inspections can often help you identify faults or irregularities in the material &#; even before you receive the products from your supplier- saving you both cost and time.
But not only does it ensure the reliability and safety of the steel, but it can also verify that the produced steel products use a particular grade of steel and meets agreed-upon standards set by industry bodies such as ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) or AISI (American Iron and Steel Institute).
The first step is to understand the technical requirements of the products that you&#;d like to purchase, and be aware that each country has its own standards for steel production. Make sure your supplier can meet your technical requirements, despite what steel standard they have.
There are numerous steel standards, each with its own unique grading system and levels. Some of the most common include:
One of the most critical moments in the selection of steel suppliers. Most of the steel producers are located in China, India, Japan and Brazil, and their factories are located thousands of miles away from you. It is important to find a supplier who can meet your needs in terms of quality, specifications, delivery time, and price.
If the steel vendor you&#;ve chosen is a manufacturer, then you should consider doing a factory audit. A factory audit often includes: checking the manufacturer&#;s basic register information and background, bank information, existence and production capability, quality control and management system, human sources and more.
An image of a factory audits summary, click here to see the factory audit sample report.
Be aware that many steel traders try to pass themselves off as a manufacturer, especially in China. If you&#;re questioning whether your vendor is a trader or manufacturer, consider conducting a supplier audit to review the company&#;s registration information and background.
Both steel manufacturers and trading companies have their advantages and disadvantages.
For still mills, they have invested heavily in many fixed assets. Hence, it&#;s less likely that they would risk cheating. They can also control the production of the order by themselves, making it more likely that they will produce the goods on time and as per the specifications and standards.
On the downside, metal manufacturers often require a higher minimum order quantity and can&#;t produce multiple goods at the same factory.
The advantages of dealing with steel trading companies are that they are more flexible than manufacturers. For example, they are more likely to collect orders with many specifications and low quantities and can offer alternatives to you.
They are also very familiar with the market, have many sources and can communicate well with steel mills to resolve problems and find the products you require.
Aside from having little to no control over the actual productions, the main disadvantage is that the company may use your down payment to find materials from steel mills and:
Wait for the market to turn to get lower prices, which can influence their on-time delivery
Substitute your steel products that are of a foreign standard with ones that have a similar domestic standard.
Increase the price after your down payment and demand you pay the price difference.
Below are some tips for choosing the best supplier for your steel products.
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Opt for steel mills
&#; Purchase directly from the manufacturer if your order meets the minimum requirement of order from the steel mills, as they are less likely to cheat on you.
Beauty can be a red flag
&#; If a supplier has an amazing website, but it&#;s only in English, and the contact information is just a personal cell number, that should be a concern to consider.
Deposit payment
&#; Before giving a company any money, we strongly suggest you double-check them through an audit, especially if something doesn&#;t feel right.
Be cautious of low prices
&#; Don&#;t be fooled by cheaper steel options; the lower price is usually indicative of a lower quality product.
There are four primary types of quality inspections used in quality control; however, when it comes to steel products, the most required inspections are often pre shipment and loading supervision for steel quality control.
The pre shipment inspection (PSI) of steel products is conducted on a random sample of finished goods and packed on-site to ensure that the products comply with your specifications, or a full inspection (checking all products). The inspector will look at different parameters, including:
1. Style and Quantity Check:
Check the actual weight of the steel by calibrating the weighting apparatus and quantity check the pieces by counting (especially useful for plates, sheets, tubes and bars).
2. Steel Dimension Check:
Verify that the dimensions align with the agreed specifications by assessing the following:
Plates and Sheets Coils: thickness, width
Bar: diameter
Pipes: Outside diameter, wall thickness, straightness, ovality and more.
3. Visual Inspection of Steel
Check the workmanship of the produced goods to identify using a visual inspection. This will tell you whether there are any defects such as dents, scratches, uneven weld beads, underfill of weld materials etc. The acceptance of these imperfections is per the applicable standard.
Other Important Pre Shipment Inspections
Check the manufacturers Mill Test Certificate (MTC).
Check the chemical composition using a PMI Spectrometer.
Check the shipping mark and packing check.
Steel Lab Testing Inspections
1. Chemical Composition Test &#; Used to determine the chemical composition of the steel and measure its quality.
2. Mechanical Property Test (Yield Strength, Tensile Strength, Elongation) &#; Evaluate the material&#;s tensile strength, yield point, and elongation percentage.
3. Hardness Test &#; Check the material&#;s resistance to local penetration.
4. Ultrasonic testing (UT) of steel &#; Detect if there are any flaws or defects in the material.
Here are some of the main risks that are associated with a pre shipment inspection.
Don&#;t forget the check the steel grade, the supplier may substitute your steel products
that are of a foreign standard with those of a similar domestic standard.
It&#;s important to test the chemical composition to check the authenticity of the materials and compare the testing result with the MTC. For example, some materials may be of lower grade materials (for example, SS201 instead of the required SS316).
Ask the supplier to package all the materials on-site when the inspector is present so that they do not try to lower the quantity, especially the coils, which cannot be counted by pieces, after the inspection. Ask the inspector to stick or sign on the package to prevent someone from opening and repackaging the materials.
Check here one HQTS Steel Preshipment Inspection Sample Report
Steel products are of high value. Unfortunately, some suppliers may cheat to make an extra profit. Once the pre-shipment inspection is complete and the inspector has left, your products may still be at risk for replacement or having the quantity reduced by the supplier.
This is where container loading supervision is useful. A loading supervision is conducted to ensure that the cargo has been properly loaded into the container. This inspection includes:
Check the quantity and weight.
Check the package and label.
Check the internal end external conditions of the container.
Supervise the loading process and the placing and fixing the products in the container.
Sealing of the container and witnessing the container leave.
Tips: Try to witness the container leave the factory after loading and record the license tag of the truck and the container number. Confirm with the driver whether it&#;s from the shipping company or the agent.
Conclusion Steel Inspection Checklist and Tips to Reduce Risks Quality Risks (Insiders Guide)
The steel market, especially in China and India, is complex, as there are small traders who pose as fraud suppliers. However, most of these suppliers are reliable businesses. Having said that, it&#;s important to know the risks associated with buying steel abroad.
To mitigate risks, we recommend conducting a supplier audit or factory audit on the businesses, combined with a pre shipment inspection and loading supervision.
Do you need help with steel inspections? Reach out to us at HQTS. We are an internationally recognised and CNAS ISO: accredited quality control company that has helped over 50,000 clients to prevent quality issues in their supply chain and ensure compliance.
Are you interested in learning more about Hot Rolled Steel Plate Suppliers? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!