Steel is one of the most widely used metals all over. Its, elasticity and its ductility makes it an amazingly versatile metal, that can be used to suit various needs. It is a metal made up of iron ore mixed with carbon. This would make non alloyed steel, whereas addition of other metals to it, like sulphur, phosphorus, oxygen or silicon would make it an alloy. The added chemical elements make steel appropriate for the use of various industries. Steel should contain less than 1 percent manganese and less than 2 percent of carbon. The amount of carbon determines the brittleness of steel. In 1856, a British inventor Henry Bessemer invented the process of smelting steel properly. The word fabrication denotes the process of cutting, gluing, welding, bending and assembling of metal to build metal structures. Fabrication can be done on different metals, as per the need and utility. Steel fabrication, aluminium fabrication, sheet metal and stainless fabrication are the different forms of fabrication. Steel fabrication is used in the process of construction of various metallic structures or bodies. A fabrication industry caters to the need of almost every industry. It is needed in the fabrication of vessels and tanks, piping, airplanes, stairs and platforms, and this service are provided by structural engineers.
Steel is purchased by the steel fabricators, and is fabricated in accordance with the structural requirement of the project. Engineers, architects and steel manufacturers are working in collaboration today, to bring out the best in fabrication. Cutting, then burning followed by forming by hydraulic brake pressures, machining, welding and the final assembling is the complete process of fabrication. The finished product is always checked and inspected well, before it is shipped out. Both human labor and manufacturing processes are used in the complete process of fabrication.
Molten iron, which comes from the blast furnace or smelting, is poured directly into the oxygen furnace. Decarburization, or oxidation of carbon takes place and molten steel is produced. A steel fabrication is a complex yet interesting process. Steel fabrication can be done in two ways, namely, the integrated route or the raw material approach and the other is the electric arc furnace or EAF method. In the first method, all the materials are initially heated up and then melted down. Finally, these melted materials are mixed into being steel. The second process, that is, the electric arc furnace process involves recycling of steel. The recycled steel is first put into a furnace that heats it up and then it is melted down. Finally, to get the end product, it is mixed with other components. Steel fabrication is a long and complex process but definitely one of outmost importance.