H-beam Production Process
H-beam is an important steel shape featuring wide applications. Different from common hot rolled steel plates, H-beam has its two ends connected together to form an “H” like structure. As its name suggests, H-beam is generally used for supporting walls and roofs. Other applications include foundation for bridges, chimneys and pylons, etc.
Although H-beam has been used for hundreds of years, its production technology has been refined with the help of industrial technologies. In modern production, H-beam typically goes through the following steps：
1. Raw material preparation
Similar to other steel products, H-beam is produced using hot-rolled steel plates. Generally, the hot-rolled steel plates that are used for building H-beam need to meet certain requirements, such as chemical composition, hardness and thickness. Here are more details about the raw materials used for making H-beam：
• Carbon Steel ---The most commonly used type used for H-beam is carbon steel. Other steel alloy materials can also be used for manufacturing H-beam. However, carbon steel involves less expensive production techniques and provides higher strength.
• Thickness—The thickness of the steel plates used for making H-beam varies from 8mm to 30mm. The thicker the plates are, the better the H-beam is in terms of toughness and strength.
2. Heating
The steel plates that meet the requirements need to be heated up before they are shaped into H beam. The steel plates are put into an electric furnace and heated up to high temperature, which is usually around 1030℃. Care must be taken to ensure the evenness of temperature at the required level, or the quality of the H beam may be affected.
3. Shaping
After heating, the steel plates are shaped in different ways. The most popular method of forming H beam is via four-roll plate rolling machine. By feeding the heated steel plate into the machine, the heated plate is shaped into an H beam according to the parameters of the machine.
4. Quenching
The shaped H beam needs to be quenched to make the material grain structure fine, and the hardness should be controlled at 215 to 290 HBW. The quenching process normally takes place after shaping but before packing. If necessary, an annealing process can be followed in quenching to reduce internal stress of the H beam.
5. Packing
The production of H beam is complete after quenching. The H beams are then packed in bundles or in wooden cases so that they are ready to be shipped.
Conclusion
H-beam is widely used in construction and architecture and hence it’s important to produce it with proper care. The production process of H beam involves several steps such as material preparation, heating, shaping, quenching and packing. These steps need to be followed carefully. While the production process varies according to the manufacturer, the above steps provide a general framework of the production process of H Beam.
