Steel is a multi-functional and extremely durable metallic alloy of iron, carbon and also consists of little quantities of sulfur, phosphorus, silicon, oxygen, and manganese. Carbon is a hardening agent that equips steel with hardness and durability. But only 2% carbon must be fused with iron as more amount of carbon would make steel breakable. Steel plays an important role in our lives and surely influences its standard. No matter, how hard we try, we will not be able to find a place where steel is not present. We are always surrounded by machines, tools, products, and structures. Our abodes and office building have a steel framework, bridges we walk on are composed of steel. All of the electrical appliances have steel bodies and of course how one can forget about stainless utensils that we use every day. Various types of machines and tools from heavy machinery are utilized in factories to smaller garden tools that are made from steel.
Steel is also utilized to fabricate military weapons, power line towers and pipelines. We have to accept the fact that no matter how hard we try, we cannot run away from steel structures or components as they infuse every facet of our lives. The steel industry is undeniably the major support system of any process of industrialization. One cannot hope to make things and progress through industrialization in the absence of a capable and strong iron and steel industry. Steel imparts specific qualities that make it so significant and variedly helpful in diversified industries. Some qualities of steel includes are mentioned below:
#1 quite firm and tough is more durable than iron
#2 Resistant to rusting and other corrosive effects
#3 Resistant to malformations at high temperatures
#4 Structures can tolerate a lot more wear and tear than any other metal
#5 Extremely malleable and elastic makes it ideal for making different structures through smelting and welding
As we have already discussed different uses of steel in different industries. How are these steel structures and products fabricated? This is done via the process of fabrication. What is a fabrication? Metal fabrication is an industrial term. It includes cutting, bending and accumulating processes that are utilized to redesign any metal to make various products. Steel fabricators generate or form pipes, sheets, and plates by melding steel into various shapes and then welding together various constituents to create the final product. They utilize fabrication machines, flame torches or laser cutters along with various welding equipment to carry out their work.
Structural engineers make designs, sketches or blueprints of machines or steel structures. These are finally fabricated by steel fabricators. So fundamentally the responsibility of the steel fabricator is to alter the blueprint into an operational final product. Initially, they alter the shape of raw materials by utilizing special tools to form structural frameworks. They trim down the raw materials to the required sizes. The different parts are fused collectively to make the end steel structure or component. Finally, the finished product is sandblasted, primed and painted and ready for delivery.