The difference of steel ingot and steel billet

Steel ingot and steel billet

1)     What are steel ingots and billets?

Both steel ingots and billets are fundamental raw materials for the steel industry. They are precursor materials used for producing different types of steel, and are also essential raw materials for steel processing enterprises.

Steel ingots refer to semi-finished products purchased directly from trade or steel mills, usually in the shape of square columns and with relatively large weight. Steel ingots are relatively standardized, generally weighing around 1-2 tons.

Steel billets, on the other hand, are semi-finished products processed through a series of production processes using raw materials (ore, scrap, etc.) from steel smelting furnaces in steel mills. They usually have irregular shapes and are relatively lightweight.

2)     What is the difference between steel ingots and billets?

1. Source of raw materials:

The main raw materials for steel ingots are secondary products such as scrap steel, which are reprocessed through technologies such as heating, compression, and polishing. Steel billets are semi-finished products obtained by processing raw materials (such as ore, coal, etc.) in steel mills.

2. External dimensions:

Steel ingots are mostly in the shape of square columns, with standardized shapes and relatively large weights. Steel billets, on the other hand, have irregular shapes and are relatively lightweight.

3. Different uses:

Due to the standardization and relatively high quality of steel ingots, they are commonly used to produce high-strength and high-quality steel, such as bearings for high-speed trains, car hubs, large bridges, etc. Steel billets are more commonly used in the production of low-end steel, such as materials for ordinary construction projects, round steel, angle steel, flat steel, etc.

3)     The production process of steel ingots and billets

1. Steel ingot production process:

Scrap steel undergoes a series of processing processes such as material selection, cutting, heating, forging, shot peening, polishing, packaging, etc., ultimately producing various specifications of steel ingots.

2. Steel billet production process:

(1) Raw material prefabrication: Crushing, screening, and mixing of ore, coal, and other raw materials to form finished ore for use in the smelting furnace.

(2) Steelmaking: Processing finished ore into flowing molten steel through high-temperature smelting.

(3) Casting into billets: The flowing molten steel is cooled by a continuous casting machine to form an amorphous billet.

(4) Subsequent processing: Descaling, cutting, deburring and other processing are carried out on the steel billet, and the final finished steel billet can enter the next production process.

4)     Application scope of steel ingots and billets

Due to the high quality and standardization of steel ingots themselves, they are usually used to SSproduce high-quality and high-precision steel products, such as bearings for high-speed trains, car hubs, large engineering bridges, etc.

Although steel billets are relatively lightweight and have irregular specifications, they have specifications suitable for conventional buildings. Therefore, steel billets are more commonly used in the production of low-end steel products, such as materials for ordinary construction projects, round steel, angle steel, flat steel, etc.