How Is Silicon Steel Made?

Nowadays, silicon steel is an important soft magnetic material with enhanced electrical properties that is widely used in industries such as electrical engineering, power generation & distribution, military development, and automotive manufacturing. Besides, it also has several important advantages, including high magnetic permeability, low core loss, elevated electrical resistivity, and certain mechanical performance. It is popularly used to fabricate the cores of motors, generators, transformers, and other electromagnetic devices. However, many people may wonder: What is silicon steel? How does silicon steel have its magnetic properties?

What Is Silicon Steel?

Silicon steel, also known as electrical steel, transformer steel, or lamination steel, is a remarkable soft magnetic alloy that finds extensive usage in the electrical industry owing to its exceptional magnetic properties. Its production involves the addition of silicon to steel, thereby augmenting its magnetic permeability and diminishing electrical losses. Also, it elevates electrical resistance, lower coercivity, and reduces hysteresis loss. Consequently, it is an ideal choice for applications necessitating efficient magnetic performance, such as transformers, electric motors, and generators. It can be crafted to curtail energy loss and heat generation, thereby ensuring the utmost efficiency in electrical devices.

How Is Silicon Steel Made?

The manufacturing process of silicon steel involves several steps to enhance its magnetic properties. Here is a general overview:

1. Raw Materials: The primary raw materials used in the production of silicon steel are iron and silicon. Other elements, such as carbon, manganese, phosphorus, sulfur, chromium, and nickel, may also be present in smaller quantities as impurities.

2. Melting and Casting: The alloy of iron and silicon is produced using a submerged electric arc furnace via reduction smelting. Silica-rich ore and a carbon source such as coking coal (metallurgical coal) are crushed and loaded into the furnace along with scrap iron.

3. Hot Rolling: At temperatures over 1900°C (3450°F), carbon reacts with the oxygen present in the ore, forming carbon monoxide gas. The remaining iron and silicon, meanwhile, then combine to make molten ferrosilicon, which can be collected by tapping the base of the furnace. Once cooled and hardened, the ferrosilicon can be shipped and used directly in iron and steel manufacturing. The molten steel is often cast into large slabs or billets.

4. Secondary Hot Rolling: The slabs or billets are heated and passed through a series of hot rolling mills. This process reduces the thickness of the steel and shapes it into coils or sheets.

5. Cold Rolling: The hot-rolled coils or sheets are further processed through cold rolling mills. This process involves passing the steel through a series of rollers at room temperature to achieve the desired thickness, surface finish, and dimensional accuracy.

6. Annealing: After cold rolling, the steel undergoes an annealing process. Annealing involves heating the steel to a specific temperature and then slowly cooling it to relieve internal stresses and improve its magnetic properties.

7. Coating: silicon steel may be coated with an insulating material, such as an oxide layer or an organic coating, to reduce eddy current losses.

8. Cutting and Stamping: The final step involves cutting the silicon steel into the desired shapes, such as coils, sheets, strips, laminations, or cores, using specialized cutting and stamping machines.

Precautions:

1. It’s important to note that the exact manufacturing process may vary depending on the specific requirements and applications of the silicon steel.

2. At Gnee Steel, quality checks are conducted with the utmost diligence, ensuring that each piece of silicon steel meets the highest standards of performance and durability.

Conclusion

Its unique properties, such as low power loss, high magnetic permeability, and high saturation magnetization, make silicon steel ideal for applications where efficient energy conversion and transmission are crucial. Therefore, it is widely found in the manufacturing of motors, generators, transformers, and other electromagnetic devices. The manufacturing process involves melting and casting the raw materials, hot and cold rolling, annealing, coating, and cutting/stamping. Gnee Steel is a reliable silicon steel supplier and distributor in China. We are able to produce high-quality silicon steel products, including oriented/non-oriented silicon steel coils, sheets, strips, laminations, and so on. All are available in accurate thicknesses, sizes, and grades to suit customers’ needs. Wanna buy high-quality silicon steel products at a favorable price? Come to contact us now.