Know and buy some Stainless Steel Products

We lookout randomly at various places to buy products made from the noble metal alloy, our very own "Stainless Steel"

 
To save your time we have made following link for you to buy anything you need made of Inox Steel

All Stainless Steel Products here


Here are some:
Pens and stationary
Household items
Books

Some call it LOTA, some GARVI.. ~ A South Asian Vessel

Lota (or Garvi as it is called) is a small, usually spherical water vessel used in India and some other neighbouring south Asian Countries like Pakistan, Nepal. A lota is commonly used to store or transfer small amounts of liquids like milk or water, but also particularly for cleaning and ritual purification. It is now available in different shapes and designs.

American designer Charles Eames in his The India Report expressed a great admiration for the lota, saying about its design:

"Of all the objects we have seen and admired during our visit to India, the Lota, that simple vessel of everyday use, stands out as perhaps the greatest, the most beautiful."

Source: Roop Metal

1K / 2K Finish on Stainless Steel sheet and Plate – why is it so important?

Firstly it’s important to look at the BS EN 10088-2 specification with relation to a 1K or 2K surface finish. The 1K refers to a finish applied onto Hot Rolled stainless steel plate, and the 2K refers to a finish produced on either cold rolled plate or sheet – and the sheet can be either 2B or from a 2R (bright annealed) substrate.

The specification and advice from the British Stainless Steel Association reads; “Satin Polish. Similar to 1J / 2J but with maximum specified Ra value of 0.5 microns. Usually achieved with SiC polishing belts. Alumina belts are strongly discouraged for this finish as this will have detrimental effect on corrosion resistance. Recommended for external architectural and coastal environments where bright polish (2P) is not acceptable.”

Having an Ra of less than 0.5 microns (often written as 0.5µm) means that the surface roughness is very fine. The finer the surface finish the less areas there are for contaminates to become trapped and potentially discolour. SiC, or silicon carbide polishing media gives a ‘clean cut’ to the surface finish thus preventing any ‘nooks and crannies’ for debris to sit in. Whilst an alumina (or aluminium oxide) abrasives belts can achieve a surface roughness of less than 0.5µm, they do not give the same ‘clean cut’ finish.
A 1K / 2K finish can be applied to sheet, plate, laser cut profiles and blanks and also long products such as square tube and flat bar.
However there will be some visual differences between the finishes produced on different product as, for example, hot rolled material will require a pre-grind to remove surface scale and defects and long products will of course go through a different product line than, for example, a cold rolled sheet at 3000 x 1500 x 2.5mm

By polishing to a 1K / 2K finish not only is the grain itself fine and smooth but there is a natural lustre to the finish. Not only a technically superior polish but also one with exceptional aesthetic appeal.
When measuring and certifying the less than 0.5µm finish it is often termed ‘Ra’. An ‘Ra’ finish is the universally recognized and most used parameter of surface roughness. It is the arithmetic mean of the departure of the profile from a ‘mean’ or ‘centreline’ and is displayed in microns (µm). The finish should be measured and certified to ensure it meets the measurement required of the 1K / 2K specification.


Source: Professional Polishing Services

Indian Steel Markets conference in March 2012

Second edition of Indian Steel Markets Conference (ISM 2012) is going to held on 21 & 22 March 2012 at Hotel Leela Kempinski, Gurgaon, Delhi India. It  is an effort to establish an intellectual and information driven global platform that will bring together the main stakeholders in the Indian steel economy, helping them to identify better solutions for the producers, consumers and other players by analyzing the global situation, region specific scenarios and Indian capacity addition as well as downstream steel markets demand drivers and key supply factors.

ISM 2011 will focus on the global and region specific scenarios, also the new challenges. It will also outlook the future demand and discuss issues affecting Indian Steel Industry.

To know more about the event and register
Send a mail to ism12@globalbusinessconnect.org

Read more here >>

St. Louis Gateway Arch

The St. Louis Gateway Arch is an elegant monument to westward expansion in the USA. Located on the banks of the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri, the 630-foot tall stainless steel arch rises above the city skyline.

There was a nationwide competition in 1947-1948 to design a monument in St. Louis honoring western pioneers. The architect Eero Saarinen (August20, 1910 - September 1, 1961) won the contest with his sleek arch. Construction of the arch began on February 12, 1963, and was finished on October 28, 1965. It was opened to the public on July 24, 1967. (after one of the trams was completed). It cost about, 13 million dollars to build. The two bases are equilateral triangles (triangles with three 54 foot-long sides). At the top of the arch, the triangle is only 17 feet long on each side. Visitors enter the arch from an underground visitors center and can travel to the observation deck at the top in a 40-passenger tram that runs inside the arch.
The arch has 60-foot deep foundations. The arch is very stable and was built to withstand high winds and earthquakes. The structure sways about one inch in a 20 mph wind; it is designed to sway up to 18 inches in 150 mile per hour winds.

Some facts and figures:
Height 630 feet
Width at the base 630 feet
Weight 43,000 tons
Exterior composition Stainless steel
When it was built February 12, 1963 -October 28, 1965
Depth of the foundation 60 feet
Architect Eero Saarinen
Structural Engineer Fred Severud

TISCO stainless steel daily output hit a new high in November

It is reported that the No 2 smelting plant of Taiyuan Steel produced 228,600 tonnes of stainless steel in November 2011, with daily output hitting 7622 tonnes, a new high in history.

In the first half of 2011, Taiyuan Steel gained business revenue of CNY 62.5 billion, up by 10.11% YoY, of which stainless steel output totaled 1.46 million tonnes, ranking first in the world.

MePas, New Innovative products for interior design market by Caino Design

STV group has launched a new series of innovative products for the interior design market with the brand name Caino Design. MePas is the name given to the first prototypes of this new range.

Starting from STV's production processes (large size silk screen printing, microelectronics and chemical milling) Takorabo designers Matteo D'Agostino and Emanuele Micono have developed a series of products aimed at interior designers.

Caino Design's approach is deliberately and provokingly different from what we often see in design and fashion trends. They reject the idea of "marketing oriented" products, separated from the reality of production and technology research, where design is at best seen as artistic planning, the ability to imagine beautiful objects made with techniques and materials available on the market and subcontracting their production to suppliers.

The Caino project refers to the most prestigious instances of "product oriented" industrial design, where starting from the production process (the know-how) new products are developed with a cross-discipline approach through innovations in technology, process and style.

POSCO to produce 3.16 million mt of stainless steel products in 2011

South Korean steel producer POSCO is continuously increasing its production of stainless steel products, and is also accelerating the expansion of its presence in the overseas markets for these products, according to Korean steel industry sources.

POSCO, which produced 2.9 million mt of stainless steel products last year, is expected to increase its annual stainless steel production this year to 3.16 million mt including output from Zhangjigang POSCO Stainless Steel in China, in order to meet growing demand for products from the automobile and electric home appliance sectors at home and abroad, said Suh Young-se, senior director at POSCO's marketing department for stainless steel, adding that the company is planning to continuously expand in overseas markets, including China and India.

Mr. Suh explained that European stainless steel producers are suffering difficulties in operations due to their excessively expanded facilities, high production costs and low selling prices for their products, stating that POSCO is the sole stainless steel maker in the world that can maintain full operation of its production facilities and secure profits at present in the stainless steel business despite the recent deterioration of the global business environment.

Meanwhile, Mr. Suh forecast that global output of stainless steel products will reach 33 million mt this year, up 6.5 percent from a year ago.

As for the outlook for the stainless steel product market in 2012, the POSCO official predicted that domestic market conditions will be unfavorable due to the slump in the global economy, but added that there will be robust demand for stainless steel products in overseas markets, particularly in China, India and in countries in Southeast Asia.

Source :Steel Orbis

Types of Stainless Steel

The four types of stainless steel:

Martensitic
• Consist of carbon (0.2-1.0%), chromium (10.5-18%) and iron.
• Subject to specific heat treatments during production.
• Very hard and strong.
• They are ferromagnetic and possess poor formability.
• Use: turbine blades, cutlery and razor blades.

Ferritic
• Consist of chromium (most common 12.5% and 17%) and iron.
• Essentially nickel-free and contain very little carbon.
• Non-heat treatable.
• Ferromagnetic and possess adequate formability.
• Exhibit superior corrosion resistance to martensitic stainless steels.
• Use: vehicle exhaust systems, cooking utensils, washing machines and indoor architecture.

Austenitic• Consist of chromium (16-26%), nickel (6-12%) and iron.
• Other alloying elements (e.g. molybdenum) may be added or modified according to the desired properties
• Good formability and ductility (and makes them non-magnetic).
• Highly durable and corrosion resistant.
• Have high ductility, low yield stress, relatively high tensile strength and good weldability.
• Use: most common with wide range of uses.

Austenitic-Ferritic (Duplex)
• Consist of chromium (18-26%) nickel (4-7%), molybdenum (0-4%), copper and iron.
• Have a microstructure consisting of austenite and ferrite.
• High corrosion resistance with greater strength.
• Ferromagnetic and reasonable formability.
• Use: process industry and seawater applications.

European stainless steel surcharges down for December

Surcharges for 304 grade stainless steel are down 3% and are now in a range of Eur1,333-1,347/mt. Surcharges for CR 316 2-mm coil for December are now averaging Eur2,050/mt down from Eur2,127/mt for November, a reduction of 4%.  Surcharges for 316 grade are now in a range of Eur2,034/mt-2,067/mt. Meanwhile, European surcharges for CR 430 2-mm coil are also lower, down from an average of Eur482/mt for November to an average of Eur459/mt for December.

The surcharge forms a large proportion of the final transaction price for stainless steel. It has come under pressure recently as nickel prices on the London Metal Exchange have continued to fall as the market comes to terms with a weaker global economic outlook.

Nickel was trading at fresh lows at $17,250/mt on Wednesday at 1117 GMT, $11,901 lower than the 2011 high of $29,151/mt in February, when some market participants speculated that nickel could move above $30,000/mt. The Platts weekly dealer molybdenum oxide assessment currently stands at $13.70-14.00/lb. Platts assessed high carbon 52% ferrochrome is at $0.95-$0.99/lb as of Thursday.

Source: PLATTS