Archive: Mar 2021

How To Choose The Right Stainless Steel Supplier

Since the late 1800s, steel remains a product material for choice for a wide variety of industries. With millions of applications across every major industry, the demand for stainless steel only continues to surge. Statistics from World Steel show that the steel industry sold products worth $2.5 trillion in 2017 while adding a net value of over $500 billion.

Finding the right stainless-steel grades for your industrial applications can be a daunting task. First, you may need to find a reputable supplier to source your 302 stainless, 304 stainless, and other steel grades. Here are five tips to help guide you in picking the right vendor.

1. Understand Your Needs

Stainless steel has a variety of applications across different industries. You may need to determine the specifications and properties required within your industry before placing the order. You may have to study the different steel grades and series available carefully and find the right fit for your applications. Determine the sheet thickness and finishing that you want for your steel supply.

Understanding your needs may help narrow your search to suppliers that only provide the quality you require.

2. Reliability

Additionally, you may need to find a stainless-steel supplier that can handle your order requirements. If you require large batch deliveries of thin sheet metal, find a vendor that has the capacity and technology to handle your stainless-steel demands. Delivery delays can result in halting your production processes, which may affect your business bottom-line.

Always ensure you find a company with established communication channels that will allow you to raise any queries that you may have about their service or product quality.

3. Consistency

You may need to evaluate the quality of stainless steel from the different potential suppliers. You ought to find vendors that will not compromise on the specifications you provide on all of your orders. Please inquire about the quality assurance processes and validation that they undertake to verify their work quality. You can learn a lot about their work ethic from reviews and testimonials from past clients.

4. Cost-Effectiveness

Steel is relatively pricey — the high costs are a result of the high costs of raw materials utilized in the production process. However, technological advancements and recycling are effectively lowering the same. Currently, approximately 40% of steel production globally is from recycled metal. Steel production may at times exceed demand, resulting in competitive pricing across the board. You may need to find a combined metals supplier that fits within your budget estimates. As you receive multiple quotes from different vendors, remember not to compromise quality for cheaper products.

5. Reputation

Finding the right stainless-steel supplier may blossom into a long-term relationship that grows with time. You may need to find out more about the vendor and how they conduct their business. Please find out how long they have been in operation. Longevity may indicate experience and quality service. Reading through customer comments and recommendations on their site and other review sites may also help you get a glimpse of what to expect. It is also important to review their delivery times.

Finding the right stainless-steel supplier is key in increasing your production output. Thin Metal Sales can help supply all the steel that you require, no matter the quantity. Reach out to us today to receive your quotation on the stainless steel grades you require.

Why 3003 Aluminum Remains the Most Commonly Used Alloy Grade

The next time you purchase an N-95 mask, check around the bridge of the nose. On the upper side, you may notice a thin sheet metal. The tiny strip is commonly made from 3003 aluminum. It represents one of the many applications for the versatile aluminum grade.

The aluminum ore, converted from bauxite, is the most abundant metal element in the earth’s crust. The Aluminum market had a valuation of $147.2 billion globally as of 2018, with projections pointing towards a 6.5% CAGR to hit $235.8 billion by 2025.

With so many aluminum alloys among the combined metals, the Aluminum Association came up with a four-digit classification for the different grades. 3003 aluminum is part of the 3xxx series. It is not only the most commonly used alloy within the series but across all alloys. It is arguably on the best general-purpose thin metal strips around. Here are several properties that make 3003 Aluminum the most common alloy grade.

1. Chemical Composition

3003 aluminum is essentially commercially pure aluminum with the addition of metallic elements such as magnesium, zinc, and copper to the aluminum base. The alloy gets a 20% increase in strength over the 1100 grade due to the manganese addition. It may contain 98.6% pure aluminum, 1.0 Mn, 0.12% Cu, and 0.1 Zn. The numbers are ‘typical’; you may have to reach out to a Thin Metal Sales representative to check if the properties meet your required application.

2. Corrosion Resistance

The 3003 Aluminum metal alloy has excellent corrosion resistance, making it a popular option for a variety of industries. It makes up an ideal combined metal in a wide range of atmospheric environments, especially in the food and construction industries.

3. Hardness

On strength metrics, the 3003 aluminum grade ranks among the medium. It is not hardened by heating but through cold work. As a work-hardened alloy, it is often described as non-heat-treatable. The hardening is through mechanical deformation such as rolling or hammering to change its structure. Depending on the method used, you can find different hardness designations, including ‘H-14’ and ‘H-18.’

4. Workability

One of the most beneficial properties of aluminum is its formability. Bending is one of the main ways to determine workability and a key feature in the fabrication process. Taking into consideration formability, thickness, and bend radius, 3003 aluminum is an excellent candidate for bending. Between moderate strength and cold formability, it offers among the best balance on yield and tensile strength.

5. Variety of Applications

You will commonly find 3003 aluminum in settings that require moderate strength and excellent formability. These properties render the alloy a general-purpose combined metal. Some of the industrial applications include.

• Construction: Aluminum 3003 is present on roofs, folded sheets, siding, garage doors, and more
• Automotive: Truck and trailer roofing
• Oil and Gas: You may use it in fuel tanks, pipe jacketing, gas lines, and much more

You may also find additional applications in the food, chemical, and architectural industries.

The strength and workability properties of the 3003 aluminum make the alloy an ideal choice for various uses. You can contact Thin Metal Sales Inc. to make your order for your aluminum needs. Our competitive rates, excellent customer service, and processing technologies give us an edge in supplying combined metals nationwide.