Ok this was just on history channel and a while back how its made.When steel is heated up the molecules align in to what they called a matrix. This becomes a stronger steel. In cold rolling they start with a huge billet of steel and run it throguh rollers compressing the steel. In cold roll steel youll have the same matrix as you did in the original billet (for the most part its really less change to the matrix). Cold rolling also uses many more rollers and or passes to get the stock to the final size and shape this is why it will tend to have a nicer looking finish.With hot rolled steel the matrix will change become more dense and well aligned. In stock removal this is a good thing as it will grind and file etc smoother for us (more consitancy) than cold rolled. In the end though if your heat treating is good other than the ease of finishing both will end up the same or very close to the same in hardness grain structure etc.Remember on raw hot rolled youll need to remove a portion of the mettal from top bottom and both esdges to get past the scale layer.OT sort of but intresting. You know that alluminum foil you use to wrap your lunch in? Well it is a multi layer or damascus alloy. To get foil they use hot roller to thin out a very huge billet of aluminum. Once its at a given thickness it is folded in half and ran through the rollers again to increase its strength. Depending on how heavy a duty its to be used for it may be folded again and again ran through the rollers. So you heavy duty foil is folded twice giving a 4 layer damscus aluminum foilJust a fun little fact i picked up watchign how its made heheh
Steel bar is is one of the more simple shapes to request &#; but there are some things that you should know when asking for a quote.
2. Metal Grade1. Hot Rolled vs. Cold Finished
First of all, there is both Hot Rolled and Cold Finished bar. Most typically, a full length Hot Rolled (HR) bar is 20 feet in length and a Cold Finished (CF) bar is 12 feet in length. Although it is possible to find Cold Finished bars that are 20 feet in length as well, but 12 feet is more common.
After that, as we&#;ve mentioned in past buying guides, with all metals, we need to know the specific grade. For example, do you need HR Round Bar, or is it a CF Round Bar?
3. Bar Shape
There are Round, Square, Flat, and Hex bar available in most grades. We can cut bars to length or ship full lengths. Additionally, we can also finish the bars the way you need them. We can have the bars Turned, Ground, and Polished (TG&P) to suit your project.
4. Bar Condition
The condition of the bar is important as well. Do you need it Annealed or Normalized? Does it need to meet a certain ASTM or AMS spec? Do you need Aircraft Quality (AQ)? Do you need the material Charpy Tested? All these things are important in knowing how to best serve your job.
5. Is it Rebar?
There is another very common bar that has a bit different sizing and that is Rebar. ASTM A615 GR 60 is most common, but it can also be Gr 40. The sizing works on a Number system, for example #4 Rebar is ½&#; in Diameter. We do have a complete Rebar Chart in our library that shows a breakdown of all the sizes.
6. Length and Quantities:
We need to know the lengths and total quantities needed to be able to quote any job.
7. Do you Need It Galvanized?
We can also have material Galvanized if needed.
Whether it is Nickel, Carbon, Titanium, Aluminum, Stainless, or Alloy bars we would like to be your supplier. Please let us know your specific request and we can put a quote together for you.
Metal wire may seem like an easy thing to order (or at least, easier than angle, beam, tube, plate, or pipe), however there are some factors that can make it more complicated than what is initially apparanet.
The key to accurately ordering metal wire is making sure you&#;re aware of the exact specifications you need for that specific job.
Below, you&#;ll find the information that you need provide to Continental Steel & Tube in order to receive the proper metal wire in the best timeline possible:
1. Grade of Metal
Regardless of if it is copper, brass, nickel, carbon steel, titanium, stainless steel or aluminum, we need to know the specific grade of wire required.
2. Metal Temper
Then the next important thing is the Temper. To be able to buy wire correctly we must know if the material needs to be ¼ hard (H01), ½ hard (H02), or Full Hard (H04). Then there is the shape of the wire, Is it round, flat or square? Most wire is round but we do quote some other options.
3. Wire Tolerance
Next, we need to know the tolerance needed on the wire. For example if the diameter of the wire you need is 0.025&#; round, what is the allowance plus or minus of that size? Depending on your needs we can supply you with the proper tolerance &#; simply state the tolerance after the diameter. For example &#;0.&#; (+/-.&#;)&#;. This means the the diameter of the wire could be between 0. and 0..
4. Wire Finish
The next step is how you want the wire finished. Is it a bright finish? Is it smooth? If it is Carbon Steel do you need Galvanized or Plain? Is it Bright Drawn, Soft Galvanized, or Black Annealed? Please let us know as we want to supply the wire exactly as you need it.
5. Total Quantity and Packaging Instructions
Lastly, we need to know how much wire you want and how you want the the wire packaged. Is it a spool or a coil? What is the package ID needed for the coil? What is the maximum coil weight needed for handling?
If we have all of this information then we can quote your job properly and supply you with the exact products you need. Please let us know how we can help with your metal wire requirements.
Do you know how to buy steel angle? Although not the most complicated form to purchase, there are definitely some factors to help ensure you get the proper materials.
Usually, when looking for steel angles, customers will ask for &#;angle iron&#;, which we refer to as Hot Rolled (HR) Steel Angle. Within this category, there are two main types: bar size and L shapes.
The bar size describes smaller angles, 1/2&#; x 1/2&#; x 1/8&#; up to 2-1/2&#;. The L shapes are larger, and are commonly stocked from 3&#; x 2&#; x 3/16&#; all the way up to 8&#; x 8&#; x 1&#;. The most common grade for the HR Angle is A36, however it can also be available in ASTM A709 Gr 36, A529 Gr 50, A572 Gr 50, and weathering steel grade ASTM A588.
At Continental Steel & Tube, We have both equal and unequal angles. For example the equal angle would have the same length on each leg, L6&#; x 6&#; x 1/2&#; thickness, while an unequal angle has a different length on each leg. An example of an unequal angle would be as follows &#;L7 x 4 x 5/8&#;. Typical lengths for an angle would be 20&#; or 40&#;, but we can also custom cut the angles to the sizes you need.
We also carry stainless grades of equal angle in grades 304/304L and 316/316L. Commonly stocked sizes in stainless are from 3/4&#; x 3/4&#; x 1/8&#; up to 4&#; x 4&#; x 3/8&#;. Stock lengths are 20&#; but we can cut material to size.
Although we get many requests for steel angle, if you need aluminum angle we can help you as well. We carry -T52 Grade in both equal and unequal angle sizes. In equal angles as small as 3/8&#; up to 2&#; in. and in unequal angle they range from as small as 3/8&#; x 3/4&#; x 3/32&#; to as large as 2-1/4&#; x 5-1/4&#; x 1/8&#; thick. Stock lengths in aluminum are 16 foot but These can also be cut to the size needed.
If you need any kind of steel angle we want to be your supplier. Feel free to ask us any questions and we will do our best to accommodate.
Continental Steel & Tube is a supplier of all forms and grades of tubing. We supply everything from large structural carbon tubes for construction projects, to small OD specialty tube for the aerospace industry.
For those new to buying tubing, these are some of the basics that can get you the material you need as fast as possible.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Xingtai Steel.
As with all forms of steel, the first thing we need to know is the kind of steel it is and the grade of steel. For example, you would let us know that you needed &#;Carbon Steel&#; (the kind) and &#;A500 GR B/C&#; (the grade).
Next we need to know the shape. Steel tube comes in a variety of shapes &#; most commonly round, square, rectangle, but can even come in hexagon, oval, flat sided oval, etc. However, those less-common shapes most likely would need to be special production runs. Ask about those and we can check on a custom quote.
Unlike pipe which is measured by inner diameter and its &#;schedule&#;, tube is measured by its Outer Diameter (OD) and the Wall Thickness (WT). A tube measurement might also include the term &#;Average Wall Thickness&#;. This would be the average of the wall thickness measured on the tube. Sometimes tube is also measured by &#;Minimum Wall Thickness&#;, which, unsurprisingly, will correspond with the minimum thickness of the wall throughout the tubing.
It&#;s also imperative to know whether you need Seamless or Welded tubing. Seamless has no weld seam at all while Welded has a visible weld seam. At Continental Steel & Tube, we also supply Drawn over Mandrel (D.O.M.) Tubing. This is a welded product that has the weld seam removed. This will appear to be a seamless product to the eye, but it is in fact a welded tube. A Hot Finished Carbon Steel Tubing that is common is ASTM A106 GR B/C or ASTM A519. A common carbon welded spec is ASTM A513, and DOM is A513 TY 5. Round Mechanical Tubing, Electric Weld (ERW), Cold Drawn Seamless are all items that are readily available.
Lastly, to provide the best possible quote, we will need to know the length of the tubing needed as well as the total quantity. This is true regardless of the Grade.
We carry a full line of Titanium, Nickel, Stainless, Carbon, Aluminum, Copper and Brass Tube. Please ask for anything that you may need. We will put you in contact with the appropriate sales person and they can help you with the request.
At first glance, buying pipe may appear to be confusing, but once you understand the basics, it becomes much easier. Determining the grade of steel is the first step in the process. This provides a basis for additional questions to narrow down the best possible product.
Many first time buyers also struggle when figuring out the size of pipe they need. Here at Continental Steel & Tube we have developed a pipe size chart that can be your go to resource for pipe sizes, and can be downloaded below.
It&#;s important to note that although the words pipe and tube are occasionally used interchangeably, they are not at all the same thing and have different applications, shapes, and measurement techniques. In general pipe is used to move gas, air, or water while tube is generally for structural use. Pipe is round, but tube can be round, square, or rectangular.
Tube measurement will be covered in a different blog article, but pipe is measured by the length, nominal inner diameter (ID) and pipe &#;schedule&#; (wall thickness). It&#;s important to note that pipe sizes follow an industry standard, so the sizing is the same regardless of grade.
For example, a 1 inch pipe would be as follows:
1&#; SCH 40 x 20&#;
Therefore, the measured size of this pipe is 1.315&#;OD x .133&#;WT x 20&#;
This is where the nominal inner diameter (ID) comes in. In this case the ID 1.049&#; will be the inner diameter measurement. The OD size is different for each Size ID; For example 3-1/2&#; Pipe will have a 4&#; Diameter. This is another aspect of pipe buying that most novices find confusing.
Some other important things to note about sizes: Once the pipe size is higher than 14,&#; the size called out is actually the outer diameter (OD), instead of the inner diameter, as described above. This remains the OD size from then on, even to the largest-offered pipes.
However, there are still a couple of other exceptions to this rule. For the wall thickness, Sch 40 and Sch STD (Standard) is the same up until the 12&#; Pipe. For pipes larger than that, the schedule switches to Sch 40S (STD) or what is referred to as &#;True Sch 40.&#;
For example in the case of 12&#; Pipe sizes would be as follows:
STD or Sch 40s
12&#; SCH 40s = 12.750&#;OD x .375&#;WT
or
Sch 40 (True Schedule 40)
12&#; SCH 40 = 12.750&#;OD x .405&#;WT
This also applies to Sch 80 and Sch 80S.
Please access our chart library below and view our pipe chart for specific details.
Next on the list is to determine whether seamless or welded tubing is required. Grades will commonly be available for both types, so it depends on the specific job. NOTE: you must know what grade you need before they send us an inquiry. We do not determine that.
Furthermore, the pipe end itself can be customized. Options such as having a pipe with beveled ends (BE) or threaded ends can influence your request with us. We need this additional information so that we can properly quote for specific kinds of pipe ends.
Lastly, we always need to know total quantity (footage) of pipe that you require. Please make sure to include this as part of your quote.
To review this information, here&#;s a quick checklist of what we will need to correctly quote the best pipe for your specific project.
1. Grade of Steel
2. Size of Pipe
3. Seamless or Welded
4. Any special pipe end requirements?
5. Quantity
Should you need a pipe that does not fall on the industry standard pipe list. We can have custom sizes fabricated. If this is something you are interested in, please ask.
If you want to learn more, please visit our website hot rolled round bar.