What is strip steel? How to import quality and prestigious strip steel?
BlogDate: 10-07-2023 by: Ngoc Cam
Strip steel is one of the most versatile forms to be fabricated and handled from the coil. It is used in most industries, including construction, automobile manufacturing, and a number of essential applications in scientific and medical engineering. In this article, MRS Steel will help you better understand “what is strip steel” and production technology and distinguish it from other common steel variations.
1. What is strip steel?
Strip steel is a bulk steel material used to manufacture small steel components. Companies often buy this material in large coils, then cut and process it to create more petite strips. It is less than 24 inches (60.96 cm) in width, in thickness between 0.157 - 0.197 inches (4 - 5 mm). The strip steel is the most suitable choice for projects requiring small plates or steel pieces.
2. Strip steel production process
To make strip steel, mills start smelting iron ore at a high temperature of 20000C and combine it with other chemical components and metals to create the desired alloy. The steel in the furnace is molten into a cold die, which thins and hardens the shell.
The next step is to shape the steel according to its intended use. The hot rolling process will help thin the steel, create flat, long, round, seamless, striped,.., and remove surface defects.
Next, the steel can be subjected to a technical treatment such as acid pickling, removing impurities, coating the outer surface, heat treatment, anti-oxidation surface treatment,... This process will help the finished products to have higher quality and improve the required properties.
Finally, the large coils undergo a processing called roll slitting, which cuts the steel into smaller strips.
3. Outstanding properties of strip steel
Strip steel is a product made from hot-rolled or cold-rolled coils, so it possesses many advantages of these steels. For example, strip steel is made from the hot-rolled coil that has been pickled, rolled, and treated with impurities on the surface, so it has a high finish and tighter thickness tolerance than the cold-rolled coil.
Strip steel is lightweight and easy to process, transport, and assemble, so it is suitable to replace some large steel plates in projects requiring small details and parts.
4. Application of strip steel in life
Customers can select from a wide range of strip options to meet the requirements of specific constructions and applications. Hot rolled strip steel has a lower price, but the surface texture is rough, and the aesthetics are not high. On the other hand, cold rolled strip steel has a smooth, shiny surface, so it costs more. Manufacturers use strip steel in many projects such as auto parts manufacturing, home appliances, construction works, and electronic components,...
- Automotive Industry: Cold-rolled stainless strips are used to make various automotive parts. The strips are stamped and cold rolled into the required shapes and sizes, so they are easy to assemble and construct.
- Construction works: Stainless steel products are popular construction materials with high applicability and easy fabrication. The rolling and casting technologies create high-quality steel strips that meet the structural and technical requirements of the building or construction.
- Electronic components: Stainless steel strips have favorable thermodynamic properties in terms of heat conduction, heat capacity, and melting temperature, so it is used to make electronic components used in refrigerators, air conditioners,...
5. Differentiate between sheet and strip steel products
Aluminum alloys and stainless steels are available in wide variations, including sheet steel and strip steel. You can classify these two types of products by the following identifying features:
Aluminum and stainless steel sheet
The sheet is one of the most popular metal variants, less than ¼ inch thick, made by rolling steel to the desired thickness. The finished stainless steel sheet is also pickled in an acidic solution, coated with a thin layer of oil to protect the surface.
Stainless steel typically undergoes a rigorous annealing, heat treatment, and hardening process to increase ductility and resistance to corrosion. The edges of the coil can be chopped to create the desired width, such as 42”, 60”, 72”, or cut to standard lengths of 96”, 120”, or 144”.
Aluminum and stainless steel strip
Both sheets and strips are sourced from flat-rolled steel. Similar to how aluminum sheets are produced, stainless steel strips are also laminated from the coil. The most significant difference between these two variants is in the size. Any coil product with 24” or more dimensions is considered a sheet, and less than 24” is considered a strip.
To produce strip steel, coils are processed through a roll-slitting process that can produce widths as small as 0.035”
6. Vietnam – The world's leading source of high-quality, prestigious steel
According to the Industry and Trade Information Center 2021 report, the total production of steel of all kinds in Vietnam reached 33.2 million tons, up 28.2% compared to 2020. In construction steel reached 12,317,765 million tons, hot rolled steel (HRC) reached 7,122,601 million tons and cold rolled steel (CRC) reached 5,283,461 million tons.
Vietnam's steel exports in 2021 also increased by 32.9% in volume, reaching 13.1 million tons, and 124.3% in value, reaching 11.8 billion USD compared to 2020. Vietnam is currently a significant source of steel for many countries and territories around the world such as ASEAN, China, the EU, the United States, Taiwan, the UK, Korea,...
Thanks to an abundant steel source, meeting international standards, and the advantages of a 0% anti-dumping duty rate, Vietnam is the world's first choice for significant steel importers.
If you are interested in learning about the situation of VietNam's domestic steel market, please get in touch with MRS Steel via Email at vanloc@mrssteel.com.vn for advice and detailed quotation.
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