Flat products are made from coil, sheets and tinplates; all manufactured following different courses to achieve the desired final usage, such products include plates, hot-rolled strip and sheets, and cold-rolled strip and sheets; with different surface conditions. They are rolled from slabs, considered a semi-finished product,customarily not sold. Resulting from either a continuous caster or rolled from ingots by a slabbing mill, slabs are 50 to 250 millimetres thick, 0.6 to 2.6 metres wide, and up to 12 metres long.
Hot rolled coils continuously roll on hot strip mill from slabs. Available on the market in coil or sheet, they are free from any potential surface or internal defects.
They are further processed into finished products by the manufacturer and can be used in a multitude of industrialized applications. To name a few, transport, construction, shipbuilding, gas containers, pressure vessels, and energy pipelines. Containing an anti-slip surface or a diamond shaped pattern, hot rolled sheets can be further used for tailboards for goods vehicles, stairs and industrial floors.
Cold rolled coils and sheets are known as flat steel products. The process of cold rolling entails reducing thickness of hot rolled coils to the desired one on a strip
mill without the use of heat.
Such thin and flat material is known as cold rolled steel. With a typical thickness from 0.15 to 3 mm and a width from 600 to 2,100 mm, it is easily paintable and wieldable; allowing for a variety of functions including high pressure.
Usage can range from automobile components, bicycle parts, domestic application, tin plates, drums and barrels, shelves, trays, to electrical components and roofing application.
Coated steels are better known for their high resistance to corrosion and thus ensuring a product’s lifetime extension.
With varying thickness, width, surface quality and finish, coated steels meet particular buyer needs for corrosion resistance, strength and formability. Once coated, the steels are readily painted granting them both better corrosion resistance and striking colors.
Their usual usage ranges from construction, white goods and automotive industries.
Galvanized coil is known as a carbon steel sheet coated with zinc on both sides in order to provide higher resistance to corrosion.
Tinplate is a thin cold steel sheet coated with a slim layer of tin. Manufacturing tin mill products results in different types including electrolytic chromium coated steel, electrolytic tinplate and black plate, an uncoated product.
It is widely used to prevent rust and can be further covered with a thin layer of lacquer to ensure maximum content’s shelf life.
With good corrosion resistance, tinplate is highly food compatible and is currently being widely used for the manufacturing of food and drink cans. In parallel, it is also used for general packaging such as paints, oils and aerosols.