We see steel in different shapes and forms. However, some steel is flat and wide and others are longs and thinner. What are the different types of steel we have?
Are steel types and grades are the same things?
SteelTradeLevel 1
How many types of steel are there?
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MetalGuru
There are three main types of steel (both carbon and stainless steel).
Flats Steel
These types are made from slab. These are in flats forms. Flat steel includes hot-rolled coil (HRC), cold-rolled coil (CRC), plates, metallic coated steel (HGD/EG, galfan, galvanume, tinplate), organic coated steel (PPGI) etc.
Longs Steel
These types of steel are made from billets and blooms. They are mainly used in building & construction. Longs steel includes rebar, wire rod, rails, bars etc.
Pipes and Tubes
Steel pipes and tubes can be seamless pipes, made from billets or welded pipes made from HRC/CRC/plate.
When it comes to end-users and specifications, the most common grade is commercial grade. However, there are more than 4000 different grades of steel. Grades usually depend on applications and specifications. They are graded based on their physical, chemical, and environmental properties. There are various international standards organisations which set standards for steel. The most common one is the ASTM standards.
Sophia Cyrus
Steel types can be categorised based on carbon contents.
Commodity Observer
The steel value chain from raw materials to finished steel products can be categorised as follows:
Raw materials and consumables
Semi-finished steel
Long products
Strip mill products
Pipe and tube
Stainless steel
Speciality steels and special metals