We all know that the iron and steel industries are the backbone of any industrialization process. Steel and iron are the main ingredients in any industry. Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, as well as some other elements such as sulfur, phosphorus, and silicon, oxygen, and manganese in smaller amounts. Carbon, when mixed with iron, acts as a hardening agent making steel harder and more durable. However, only 2% carbon is added to iron to make steel, the higher the amount of carbon, the more brittle the steel becomes. Steel is created by removing oxygen from iron ore, and carbon is used to bind the oxygen. The iron is heated to 910 degrees Celsius, then water or oil is used for cooling, and finally the oxygen is removed. During the removal of oxygen, carbon fuses with iron to create the final product, which is steel.
The steel industry is the indicator of economic development and progress of any nation. In the last two hundred years since Henry Bessemer invented the proper method of casting steel in 1856, steel has become the basic building material in any industrially developed nation. The cars we drive are made of steel, the kitchen sink where we wash dishes is made of steel, and even the building in which we live and work has steel structures. It is used to make power line pylons, gas pipelines, heavy machinery used in factories, weapons, everyday kitchen utensils, tools and appliances and more; basically the list goes on and on. Thus we can say that machines and steel structures surround us.
Now the process of cutting, bending or fusing and assembling steel parts to create different structures like pipes, plates, sheets, beams, handrails etc. can be called fabrication. Steel fabrication is the process by which manufacturers manipulate steel into different shapes or patterns to create different steel structures or components. Steel fabricators follow the designs, drawings, and plans provided to them by structural engineers. The primary responsibility of steel fabricators is to transform a drawing design into a usable final product by cutting, bending to reshape, and assembling the steel. There are actually two separate methods of manufacturing. The first method is called the integrated route or raw material approach and more than 60% of steel manufacturing is done this way. Here, all the raw materials are smelted by heating them to high temperatures and then mixed with steel. The second method known as the Electric Arc Furnace or EAF is actually easier and faster. Here recycled steel is melted at a high temperature in a furnace and then mixed with other elements to make the final product. Steel fabricators not only produce or create usable products, but are also responsible for maintenance and repair work.