How is Stainless Steel Made? Image Source :
www.langfordmetal.com.au
Article Source :
www.wisegeek.com
Stainless steel has been touted
This metal attributes its unique
for its ubiquitous practical uses,
properties to chromium metal. By
making appearances in the
nature, stainless steel is a low
architectural, automotive,
carbon steel that includes at least
kitchen, home, and industrial
ten percent chromium metal by
applications of manufacturing. It
weight in its composition. This is
contains a high resistance to
what is responsible for its stainless
corrosion resulting from a range
property. The chromium oxide forms
of atmospheric conditions and
a film non-detectable to the naked
extreme changes in pH, making it
eye on the surface of the steel,
low maintenance. Its ability to
which is flexible and self-healing in
withstand high magnitudes of
the presence of oxygen gas.
temperature in both directions, high pressure, and still be malleable and ductile makes stainless steel the ideal material for fashioning lasting, highly used products. Even after its useful life, this material is easy to recycle and fetches a high scrap value.
Stainless steel itself is made in an electric arc furnace. Within the furnace, carbon electrodes that are positioned to make contact with scraps of steel blast currents through them. The scraps of steel do not only have to be mixed with chromium. Other elements can be added to enhance the steel, including nickel, nitrogen, and molybdenum. All of this electrode-induced activity takes place in a very high temperature environment.
Upon reaching the critical melting
them being gold, bronze, green,
point, the steel scraps and alloys
blue, and black. Another optional
start intermixing until the result is
finishing touch is dipping the
one homogeneous metal fusion. The
product in an acid bath, which
whole mass is then transferred to
eliminates any scaling on the
an argon oxygen decarbonization
stainless steel for a better polished
(AOD) vessel where
appearance and easy cleanability
deoxygenization occurs. Afterward,
after usage.
casting or forging can be done. Because of its malleable and
There exists at least sixty grades of
ductile abilities, the metal can be
stainless steel, categorized by the
manipulated into a variety of
alloy elements of its microstructure.
shapes and forms, or drawn into
Within these grades are three main
wires.
types of stainless steel, namely Martenistic, Ferritic, and Austenitic.
As a finishing touch, an electro
These main types differ depending
chemical process can treat the
on degree of magnetism, the
steel into different colors, some of
percentage of chromium, and the proportion of the other elements.