7 Uses of Steel Coil
What are some industries that use steel coils?
- Construction
- Automotive
- Packaging
- Consumer goods
- Machinery
- Energy and electrical equipment
The uses of steel coils are diverse and wide-ranging. These steel sheets are versatile in that they are used in many industries, for different purposes, and as raw materials for a range of products.
Steel coils are thin sheets of steel rolled into a long, cylindrical shape. They come in two forms: hot-rolled and cold-rolled, based on the production process. Steel coils are popular in many industries due to their high strength, durability, resistance to weather and corrosion, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.
In this article, we enumerate some industries that make use of steel coils and discuss how these sheets of metal are used in the respective fields. Read on to know more!
Construction
Like many other metal materials, steel coils are also popular in the construction industry. They’re used as materials for roofing sheets. building panels, pipes, walls, reinforcing bars (rebars), and structural components like beams, columns, and trusses.
For roofing sheets, walls, and building panels, the steel coils are unrolled and flattened into sheets before being cut into the desired size and shape. As for pipes, rebars, and other structural components, the coils are unrolled, cut to length, and then welded or rolled into cylindrical shapes before being cut to the desired lengths.
Automotive
Steel coils can also be commonly used when producing various automotive components. These include car body parts, chassis components, and even exhaust pipes.
The steel is unrolled, cut to size, and then stamped into shape with specialized machinery to produce doors, hoods, and fenders. It can also undergo stamping and welding to form chassis or engine components, or welding and bending to make exhaust system pipes.
Packaging
While steel coils are most often unrolled, cut to size, stamped, and welded to produce metal cans, this is not the only way they are used in the packaging industry.
Foil packaging is another product that comes from steel coils after the sheets pass through a series of rollers to reduce their thickness and increase their length, and a layer of aluminum is applied to provide protection against the elements.
Another application is steel drums that are used for the storage and transportation of liquids and powders. Formed in a similar way to metal cans, the resulting drums are coated with a layer of paint or other protective coatings to prevent corrosion.
Finally, steel coils are also used to produce steel straps that secure packages and pallets during the transportation of goods. The steel goes through a combination of stamping and heat-treating to achieve the desired shape and flexibility.
Consumer goods
Quite a number of things you find in stores are actually made of steel coils. These include appliances like refrigerators, washing machines, and ovens, furniture like desks, chairs, and shelving, tools like hammers, wrenches, and saws, sports equipment like golf clubs, tennis rackets, and bicycles, and various kinds of hardware like nails, screws, and bolts. For all of these, the coils are unrolled and flattened before going through a combination of processes including forging, welding, stamping, and heat-treating.
Machinery
Many machine parts are made out of steel coils, like frames, bearings and shafts, gears, springs, and engine components. The benefit of steel coils in the machinery industry is how flexible they are—because they can be shaped into a variety of forms, there are so many standard and customizable machine parts they can be formed into.
Energy and electrical equipment
Steel coils are used in the construction of wind turbines and transmission lines for the electrical power industry. They are also used in the production of pipelines, boiler tubes, pressure vessels, and solar panels. Their strength and durability are key in ensuring that the products formed from steel coils are long-lasting and reliable.
Steel coils are also used to produce transformers, various types of motors, generators, electromagnets, and electrical cabinets.
Key Takeaway
As you can see from this article, there are many applications and uses of steel coils in a wide range of industries. What makes steel coils so versatile is their strength, durability, corrosion resistance, and ability to be formed into the many shapes and sizes required by various industries.
Though most of these applications require steel coils to undergo the same processes, it’s surprising just how many products are eventually created, such that steel coils can be useful for just about any industrial purpose.
Regardless of the industry you’re in, if you are looking for steel coils, turn to the best steel supplier in the Philippines, Metal Exponents. We supply steel products to a wide range of businesses in as many industries, so we have the expertise and experience to back up our claims. Contact us today for a quote!