Important, Quality Materials for Precision Manufacturing
When we talk about steel, there are three territories that we immediately think of. These come with both positive and negative connotations but these preferences also depend on the use that the steel will be put to.
To start with we have EU/UK origin steel – the EN standard is a certified stamp of approval, made with quality controlled raw materials, precise and to bespoke requirements. More often than not, with quality comes price, and in a tough market, sometimes that’s not feasible for everyone. But price becomes less important when complex hi tech products need to be manufactured on short lead times .This now is the reality of British and EU metals manufacturing .
Next, we have Brazilian steel – currently facing tough times, the Brazilian steel industry has seen a 9.2% reduction in crude steel production and a 7.7% reduction in rolled steel production. While the steel might not be up to the British mark – the quality isn’t the worst, but shipping prices and the logistics of shipping cross globe can make this a problem industry to source steel from. However it fulfils and important role in satisfying the remaining and much reduced general steels heavy manufacturing sector
We also have Indian steel. There are many negative connotations around Indian steel – the main one being the quality of the product. For example, Indian steel pipework is known not to be the best in keeping in heat! However, this industry flourishes with low cost products, easy to deliver steel and quick turnaround times, making production with Indian steel something of a fast turnaround product. The quality of Indian steel is improving, and in other material types such as nickel based alloys you can find very high quality manufacturers here too.
Overall, when considering the purchasing of steel products, the typical iron triangle of ‘time vs cost vs quality’ can be considered – if you could pick two of the three, which are more important to you?
Currently, Britain is seeing a change in focus towards smaller scale added value precision manufacturing. Inevitably quality and time have become of more focus than price. This will only benefit the British manufacturing sector moving forward into the modern era!
Hardened and Tempered Steel
The hardening and tempering process of carbon steel production is used predominantly for blades and cutting tools. Carbon steel is hardened through a heat treatment process, this can be tailored to customers particular hardness requirements.
Strip and coil
Steel strip derives from an on-going process of reducing the steel thickness using rolling, pickling and cold-rolling and controlling the temper and ductility .
This is a bespoke process producing steels which meet individual customer specifications .
Precision Wire
Precision wire is the process of creating specific steel or nickel based wires that are conditioned and manufactured based on tolerances and specification so that they may be used in specific environments and applications.
Precision wire could be anything from stainless steel fine wire, copper nickel resistance wire and shunt alloy, profiled wire, thermocouple wire, Dumet wire, welding wire to very tight tolerances.
Thin walled tube
These small diameter tubes are produced in seamless or welded and redrawn condition. Using the latest in laser welding, these tubes are manufactured based on application in order to deliver thin walled tubes that meet bespoke application requirements.
Depending on the application we can tailor mechanical properties and surface conditions.
Purchasing Steel and metals with a known provenance
The aforementioned products can all be sourced, manufactured to requirements and delivered by Avocet Steel Strip Ltd. When sourcing from this British supplier you ensure that you source from accredited partners and you source only the finest materials.
