Coil refers to finished steel products made from slabs. Slabs are considered semi-finished steel products made from ingots. Coils can be produced from slabs in different ways – hot-rolled, cold-rolled or electrolytic tinplate (EPT). Once all major production processes are completed, the resulting rolled material can now be used in various industries for assembly or further manufacturing. Knowing this, steel coil uses can vary by industry, but some of its most popular and well-known applications include pipe fabrication, structural steel members, electronic components, consumer goods, automotive parts, and many more.

As mentioned earlier, coil manufacturing involves taking a slab and putting them into a continuous rolling mill to reduce their thickness. The result is a durable, high-grade, ductile and high-strength steel sheet wound into coils.

 
car parts
Auto parts manufactured from steel coils can be found almost anywhere in a vehicle – from chassis frames, doors, exhausts, dashboard systems, wheels, rims, engines, suspensions and more. Steel coil's high strength-to-weight ratio, durability, heat resistance and non-combustibility make it an ideal material due to the heat generated by a vehicle's internal combustion engine. Like consumer electronics, auto parts will remain intact after being applied to steel coils.

Except for these auto parts that already exist. Products made from steel coils have also been the material of choice for automakers. Steel coils can be recycled indefinitely without losing their most important properties. Any scrap steel coil can be refined and ground again to become new auto parts. Additionally, auto component and vehicle manufacturers are constantly experimenting with steel to come up with innovative solutions to improve vehicle safety and user experience.


pipe manufacturing
The most common use for steel coils is in pipe manufacturing. Pipes such as ERW (Electronically Resistance Welded) and seamless pipe start from uncoiled sheet metal that passes through a continuous rolling mill. The purpose of this method is to fuse two joints in the rolling process by ERW without using any weld filler compound. Since ERW pipe does not depend on heating furnaces or high temperatures, it is classified as cold formed pipe manufacturing, which reduces the internal stress of the pipe, both during storage and in use.

Another tubing technique is used for spiral tubing, however, it still starts with sheet metal wound at an angle. This will cause the weld to run around the outside surface of the pipe, creating a helix with all the joints welded together.

Structural Steel Members
In applications where high tolerances are not necessarily required, steel coils are preferred. This is due to the high weldability, ductility and workability of the steel plate when unfolded. Using any type of metal fabrication machine, bending machine or stamping machine, steel coils can be transformed into special structural steel members such as I-beams, H-beams, angles, wide-flange beams and more.

Structural steel members can be found in nearly every type of building. For example, they provide framing support for the walls or shell of a structure. Steel beams are strong enough to support different building materials and they can also be joined using different types of couplings or steel connectors. These beams can also be found in a building's ceiling structure - steel trusses and rafters provide ample support to resist wind loads and keep the ceiling structure intact.

 
Electronic equipment
Steel has a high melting point, making sheet metal suitable for use in electronics. Such as CPU casing, mobile phone casing, heat sink, iron core, circuit board, etc. Since these components require electrical power to function, they can end up generating high heat that can affect other components.

Fortunately, the high melting point of the steel coil allows all of these components to work together without the heat rage that could damage the components. Steel coils are also a good choice as they are easy to shape and require little maintenance. Any electronic device you use in your home is made of steel due to the properties of the material, making it cost-effective to buy.

 
metal stamping parts
Finally, in a wider range of applications, steel coils are widely used in different metal stamping processes such as shearing, grooving, flanging or cutting. Once again, steel coils are extremely malleable, whether hot formed or cold formed and stamped. They can be easily molded into any form and can be used to achieve high tolerances.

Metal stamped coils have benefited all industries - from automotive, industrial, petrochemical, logistics, construction, food and beverage and many more. In fact, almost every steel product you find around is made from stamped coils, making them a very versatile material.

 
key points
As discussed in this article, steel coil uses can be grouped into the following categories: pipe making, steel beams/members, automotive components, metal stampings, and electronic equipment. Although coil manufacturing may seem simple - i.e. start from semi-finished steel plates - it is essential for the delivery of different types of finished steel parts and goods that are used in different ways.