Steel is a vital part of most constructions and it has been so from the 1800s. It has a versatility that lends itself to different applications as a building material. Those who are steel fabricators in St Louis are trained to work with the metal in different forms as per the end uses. The end uses are determined as per the client requirements and specifications provided. Softer steel is used for machining while hard steel is used for the construction of safes and other security devices.
A key ingredient used
For making steel, iron is the main ingredient used. It is obtained as an oxide form from the ground. It is a chemical mixture of iron along with oxygen. Iron which is oxidized can be found in old steel products as well as the other protective layers and metals corrode away with time. Iron is obtained in pure form in a high temperature blast furnace. There are different processes involved to remove the waste rock in which iron is embedded. The iron is separated out in this manner and then converted into pure form in the blast furnace.
Other components in steel
Steel is found or created in different ways. Not every category of steel is formed in the same way though the base material is always iron. Carbon is another ingredient that is present in all forms of steel. It is present in low percentage. Oxygen in iron ore combined with carbon and that is how it is removed from iron oxide. Carbon or coke in its pure form is created by heating coal at high temperatures. This helps to remove organic compounds from it. There are other components that are used in the making of steel. These are limestone, silicon and other metals. Limestone, known as calcium carbonate, is a flux that is added at different intervals. It helps to form a slag and that removes impurities. Silicon helps to remove oxygen from the furnace. This helps steel fabricators in St Louis to be able to work on the alloy in a better way. They can bend it or run it through a machine in any way they want.
How steel companies work?
Different metal fabrication St Louis companies use recycled steel in blast furnaces. They limit it to thirty percent of the weight. Steel is recycled easily and electric arc furnaces are used for that. Electrodes are suspended inside furnaces and high electricity is run through them. Recycled materials which contain steel usually are melted in these furnaces. Different additives are used to change the steel composition as desired. The metal fabrication St Louis companies work as per the requirements of the clients which are sent to them. The clients usually hail from construction or from different commercial industries like interior designing or even household goods producers.
Hey, I am Richard Finch. I enjoy writing informative articles on steel fabricators in St Louis and metal fabrication St Louis .
