What Does Slitting Stainless Steel Mean?
Stainless steel finds applications in every area of modern life from the gigantic to the tiny. You will find the crucial material in everything from the largest skyscraper or bridge to the smallest components in watches and phones. However it is going to be used, pieces of stainless steel must be fabricated to the correct size from the huge pieces that they start out as. This process is known as 'slitting'.
Stainless steel is produced as giant slabs. The process of altering their size begins with rolling them to a thinner gauge, a process that is carried out using a piece of machinery called a 'Z mill'. This produces flat slabs that are rolled into coils that measure around 125cm on average and are known as 'mother' or 'master' coils.
These large coils are then slit into strands (sometimes called stainless steel slit strips) using machinery with sharp blades located above and below the metal. BS Stainless utilises the most advanced slitting lines, which are operated by experienced setters.
The aim of this process is to reduce the width of the coil while retaining its original length. Next, a recoiler (as the name suggests!) re-coils the strands. Throughout the process, exact alignment must be carefully ensured so that the finished stainless steel strip coil matches the exact tolerances for the given application.
The finished stainless steel coils are then at the right width so that they can be immediately introduced to the production line of the purchasing customer. Standard sheets that have not been slit are often too small (leading to wastage of time changing coils too often) or too large (preventing them from fitting correctly on the line).
Producing stainless steel strip coil in-house gives BS Stainless complete control over the entire process, which is carried out by experts under the scope of our ISO accreditation. This means that our customers can relax in the knowledge that the finished product is of the highest quality.
Precision slit stainless steel strips are available to purchase from BS Stainless in a variety of sizes, grades and types to suit any individual application. We can also supply de-coiled stainless steel blanks and even aluminium coils. Many professional finishes are also available. We specialise in tailoring our service to meet unique requirements and so welcome any unusual requests!
Please browse the BS Stainless website to find our more about stainless steel slit coil and get in touch with our technical team if you have any questions or need advice.