Nearly everything nowadays is made with steel. Your sinks are made with stainless steel, the building you’re sat in will have been created from steel structures and your car is made of steel. Steel is a strong and durable material that has a complex fabrication process, especially the development of modern steels which have a larger variety of shapes and sizes.

Steel fabrication is the process used to manufacture steel components, which can be assembled and joined together to form complete steel frames which we use in building structures or cars. Frames are generally built en-masse and are readily available from steel stockholders. In some cases the standard frames may not be the correct shape or size for the consumer and new shapes can be created via the steel fabrication process.

The first process for properly smelting steel was invented in 1856 by a British inventor named Henry Bessemer. There are 2 ways in which we can process steel fabrication. The first is the raw material approach which involves the correct materials being heated up, then melted down and mixed into steel. This is called the integrated route. The other process which is quicker and easier is done by using an electric arc furnace (EAF). This method involves putting recycled steel into a furnace and melting it down, once it is melted down it is then mixed with other materials crucial to the steel building process. Strong steel is the end result of this welding process, over a third of steel fabrication general takes place with the EAF method. Let’s go into more detail about the welding process.

Welding is a core actively within steel fabrication to prepare joints for connection with other steel components. The welding process involves using an electric arc to generate enough heat to melt the material in a joint. A separate material that helps the steel to maintain its strong properties is also melted and combines with the melted joint to form a molten weld pool. As welding progresses along the joint, the molten weld pool starts to solidify which fuses the materials which were also melted down into the steel joint. The welding may need several attempts or passes in order to form the correct shape.

Steel & Site are steel fabrication and steel stockholders in the Midlands. Our welders have years of experiences in steel fabrication and we can supply a wide range of RSJ Steel Beams created in our warehouses. Contact our Structural Steel Fabricators Midlands office on 01384 265 747 today for all enquires.