Steel Strip – Assortment, Marking Features, and Manufacturing

Strips made of ferrous and non-ferrous metals are in demand across various sectors of industry and mechanical engineering.

Depending on their dimensions and material, not only the weight but also the properties and applications vary. It should be noted that in modern domestic metallurgy, the term "strip" may refer to products that differ significantly in production methods and final characteristics.

Steel Strip

According to DSTU 2924, strip rolling is a metal product with a rectangular cross-section, a thickness of 4–60 mm, a width of 11 to 200 mm, and rolled edges.

Wide strip rolling has a thickness of 6–60 mm and a width of 200 to 1050 mm, with rolled edges.

Hot-rolled steel strip is a rolled product manufactured using the hot-rolling method, featuring a rectangular cross-section.

Cold-rolled strip is a rolled product obtained through cold-rolling by slitting hot-rolled coils.

It can be concluded that these products are very similar, which is why they are grouped together and referred to as strips, not only in everyday use but also in professional terminology. However, it should be noted that the first term pertains to long products, while the others belong to flat products, meaning they belong to different groups of metal products and are produced using different equipment.

EN10079 is a European standard in effect in Ukraine since 2002. It defines the term "strip" as a hot-rolled flat product that, after the final rolling pass, pickling, or annealing, is coiled into a roll. These products come in various sizes and standards. According to this standard, strips are classified by size into wide strips (width of 600 mm or more), slit wide strips, and narrow strips (width less than 600 mm).

Section 5.2.2, which applies to cold-rolled flat products without coating, also includes the term strip or "sh trips." This is a cold-rolled flat product that, after all processing stages, is coiled into a roll. It is classified similarly to products manufactured by hot-rolling into wide, slit, and narrow modifications.

In the original European standards, there is no confusion with terminology. Long profiles in the form of strips are called Flat-bars or Flats, while flat rolled products in coils are referred to as Strip.

Production of Metal Strips

For the production of long strip products, flat bars are manufactured using hot-rolling mills. The billet, with a square or rectangular cross-section, is preheated in furnaces. It is gradually deformed by rolls with varying calibrations, then cut into specified lengths, cooled, packaged, and labeled.

Hot-rolled strip is produced from a slab with a rectangular cross-section on heavy- or light-gauge rolling mills equipped with coilers. The working rolls have a smooth barrel without calibrations. The semi-finished product is preheated in a furnace. Various types of heat treatment may also be applied. At the final stage, the strip is coiled into rolls on drum coilers.

For the production of cold-rolled strip in coils, cold-rolling mills are used. The starting material is a hot-rolled pickled coil, which is deformed without preheating. It has tighter tolerances and better surface quality.

The finished strip can be slit into narrower strips using longitudinal cutting units.

Since this group of rolled metal products includes a wide range of items, strips have a broad assortment.

It should be noted that regulatory documents may apply to both long and flat products, for example, EN10025. This standard is used for structural steel products. According to it, coiled rolled products are made from steel grades S235JR, S275J0, S355JR, S355J2, and S355N.

At the ordering stage, products can only be distinguished by their geometric characteristics. Therefore, consumers and manufacturers must pay special attention, as flat bars and coiled strips have entirely different applications.

Main Applications of Strip Rolling

• Construction – manufacturing of metal structures, decorative elements, and profiles;
• Mechanical engineering – springs for transportation, components of bodies, chassis, and frames;
• Production of cutting tools and other industrial equipment.

According to the standard, permissible tolerances for thickness, width, length, flatness of straight sides, and rectangularity are defined.

Coiled rolled products are used for pipes for construction and general purposes, large-diameter pipes for main gas and oil pipelines, and cold-rolled products through rerolling.

They are in demand for machine and equipment bodies, automotive components, bent profiles for construction and mechanical engineering, angles, channels, wagon cladding elements, road infrastructure metal structures, guardrails, and barriers.

As evident, strip rolling has a wide assortment, which requires careful consideration when purchasing these products. If you have any questions or doubts, contact the sales department manager of UTMK. They will assist with selections at warehouses in Kyiv, Dnipro, Odesa, Warsaw, Krakow, and Łódź. You have the opportunity to purchase strip rolling and other metal products.