What is billet?

Steel billet refers to the metal billet that has not been rolled after smelting iron ore. It is a very important raw material in the steel industry and the basis for making steel products. The quality and specifications of the steel billet have a critical impact on the performance and use of the final steel.

Classification by manufacturing process:

Mainly divided into mold casting billet and continuous casting billet. At present, the mold casting process has been basically eliminated, and continuous casting billets are widely used because of their good surface quality and uniform internal structure.

Classification by appearance:

Mainly divided into slabs and billets. The ratio of the cross-section width and height of the slab is large, and it is mainly used for rolling plates; the cross-section width and height of the square billet are equal or have little difference, and it is mainly used for rolling steel sections and wire rods.

Production Process

The production of steel billets generally goes through processes such as ironmaking, steelmaking, and casting. First, pig iron is extracted from iron ore, and then the pig iron is converted into the raw material of steel billet. In this process, appropriate amounts of scrap steel, alloys and other materials are also added to adjust the composition and properties of the steel billet. Finally, the obtained molten steel is cast into a billet with a certain shape and size, which is the preliminary steel billet.

Advantages of billet

1. Basicity and plasticity: Steel billet is the basic material for making steel products. Through hot rolling, cold rolling, forging, drawing and other processing processes, steel products of various specifications can be produced, such as steel plates, steel pipes, steel coils, etc. This high degree of plasticity makes steel billets have broad application prospects in industrial production.

2. Excellent mechanical properties: Hot-rolled steel billets are produced through hot-rolling processes at high temperatures and have high strength and hardness while maintaining good plasticity and toughness. This makes hot-rolled steel billets excellent at withstanding heavy loads and impacts, making them suitable for manufacturing a variety of structural and mechanical parts.

3. Energy saving and environmental protection: Modern billet rolling technology realizes the continuity of continuous steel casting and rolling processes, and can make full use of the waste heat of continuous casting billets for rolling, thus saving a lot of energy. Compared with the traditional multi-fire forming process, this new process can significantly reduce energy consumption and increase the yield rate.

4. Improve production efficiency: The adoption of billet rolling technology simplifies the production process, reduces the number of repeated heating times and cooling time, thereby shortening the production cycle and improving production efficiency. At the same time, it also reduces the area occupied by equipment and factory buildings, reducing infrastructure investment and production costs.

5. Good processing performance: The steel billet forms a uniform structure and high purity during the rolling process, which makes it show good processability in the subsequent processing process. Whether it is cutting, welding or forging, you can get satisfactory results.

Application of billet

1. Construction field: Hot-rolled steel billets can be used to manufacture various building structural materials, such as steel beams, steel columns, steel frames, etc. Due to their high strength and excellent mechanical properties, these structural materials excel in withstanding heavy loads and resisting earthquakes.

2. Machinery manufacturing field: Steel billet is one of the important raw materials in the machinery manufacturing industry. Various mechanical parts and components, such as gears, bearings, shafts, etc., can be made through forging, rolling and other processes. These parts play a key role in the operation of mechanical equipment.

3. Energy field: In the energy field, steel billets are widely used in pipeline manufacturing in oil, natural gas and other industries. Hot-rolled steel billets can be made into various steel pipe products through cold rolling, drawing and other processes, such as seamless steel pipes, welded steel pipes, etc. These steel pipe products exhibit good corrosion resistance and pressure-bearing capabilities when transporting oil and gas resources.

4. Transportation field: Steel billet is also one of the important raw materials in the transportation industry. It can be used to manufacture body structures and components for vehicles such as cars, trains, and ships. At the same time, in railway construction, steel billets are also used to manufacture key facilities such as rails and switches.

5. Other fields: In addition to the above fields, steel billets are also widely used in electronics, home appliances, military industry and other fields. In these fields, steel billets are mainly used to manufacture various structural parts and components to meet different use requirements.