"Plate, Sheet, Strip, Coil" are terms commonly used in the metal industry to describe various forms of metal products. Here's a breakdown of each:
Plate:
Size: Generally thicker than sheets, plates are flat pieces of metal with thicknesses typically ranging from 3/16 inch to several inches.
Process: Plates are usually produced by hot rolling or cold rolling, depending on the material and desired properties.
Surface: Can vary depending on the manufacturing process and finishing techniques. Common surface finishes include hot rolled, cold rolled, and polished.
Packing: Plates are typically bundled or palletized for transportation, often with protective packaging to prevent damage during handling and shipping.
Material Grade: Plates can be made from various materials including steel, aluminum, stainless steel, and other alloys. Material grade depends on the intended use and required properties such as strength, corrosion resistance, and conductivity.
Sheet:
Size: Thinner than plates, sheets typically have thicknesses ranging from 0.006 inches to 0.25 inches.
Process: Sheets are commonly produced by hot rolling or cold rolling, similar to plates.
Surface: Surface finish can vary depending on the manufacturing process and application requirements.
Packing: Similar to plates, sheets are often bundled or palletized for transportation, with protective packaging as needed.
Material Grade: Like plates, sheets can be made from a variety of materials including steel, aluminum, stainless steel, and alloys, with different grades suited for different applications.
Strip:
Size: Strips are narrow, long pieces of metal with thicknesses typically ranging from 0.002 inches to 0.125 inches.
Process: Strips are usually produced by cold rolling, although some materials may also be hot rolled.
Surface: Surface finish can vary depending on the manufacturing process and intended application.
Packing: Strips are often coiled for transportation, with protective coatings or packaging to prevent damage.
Material Grade: Similar to plates and sheets, strips can be made from various materials with different grades depending on the application.
Coil:
Size: Coils are long, continuous rolls of metal with thicknesses typically ranging from 0.005 inches to 0.25 inches.
Process: Coils are produced by hot rolling or cold rolling, depending on the material and desired thickness.
Surface: Surface finish can vary depending on the manufacturing process and requirements of the end use.
Packing: Coils are tightly wound for transportation, often with protective coatings or packaging to prevent damage.
Material Grade: Coils can be made from various materials including steel, aluminum, copper, and alloys, with different grades suited for different applications.
Each of these forms serves different purposes in various industries, from construction to manufacturing to automotive and beyond. The choice of form, size, process, surface finish, packing, and material grade depends on the specific requirements of the application.
| Type | Plate Sheet Strip Coil | ||
| Size | Length | 0~12m or as per your requirements | |
| Width | 0~2500mm or as per your requirements | ||
| Thickness | 0.3~1200mm or as per your requirements | ||
| Process | Hot/Cold Rolled | ||
| Surface | No.1 No.2D No.2B BA No.3 No.4 No.6 No.7 | ||
| Packing | Steel Frame, waterproof paper, wooden pallet, wooden case or as per the client's requirements | ||
| Material Grade | Carbon Steel | ASTM A515 | GR.60/65/70 |
| ASTM A516 | GR.55/60/65/70 | ||
| Alloy Steel | ASTM A387 | Grade 11/12/22 | |
| Stainless Steel | ASTM A240 | 304/316L/316Ti/317L/310S/410 | |
| S31803/S32750/S32760/904L/S31524/S31050 | |||
| UNS N08367/N08926/N08800/N08810 | |||
| Nickel Alloy | ASTM B409 | UNS N08800(Incoloy 800)/UNS N08810(Incoloy 800H)/UNS N08811(Incoloy 800HT) | |
| ASTM B463 | UNS N08020/Alloy 20) | ||
| ASTM B575 | UNS N10276(Hastelloy C276)/N06022(Hastelloy C22)/N06200(Hastelloy C2000) | ||
| ASTM B127 | UNS N04400/Monel 400 | ||
| ASTM B162 | UNS N02200(Nickel 200)/N02201(Nickel 201) | ||
| ASTM B688 | UNS N08367 | ||
| ASTM B424 | UNS N08825(Aloy 825) | ||
| ASTM B443 | UNS N06625(Inconel 625) | ||
| ASTM B168 | UNS N06600(Inconel 600) | ||
| Ti | ASTM B265 | Ti 1/2/5/7 | |
Stainless Steel Sheet, Coil And Strip
| Grade | 304, 304/304L, 316 & 316/316L. |
| Thickness (mm) | 0.45 to <5.0. |
| Width (mm) | 914, 1219, 1500, 2000 & customer specific strip. |
| Length (mm) | 1829, 2438 & customer specific cut-to-length. |
| Finish | 2B, No.4, BA, No.1 (HRAP) & customer specific polish. |
| Standard coating | Paper interleaf & PE. |
| Optional coating | Laser & Deep drawing PVC. |
| Plasma profiles | To customer drawings. |
Stainless Steel Plate
| Grade | 304/304L, 316/316L, 4003/CR12, 2205 & 253MA. |
| Thickness (mm) | 5.0 to 50.0. |
| Width (mm) | 1250 (grade 4003), 1500, 2000 & 2500. |
| Length (mm) | 3000, 6000 & customer specific cut-to-length. |
| Finish | 2B (to 8mm) & No.1 (HRAP). |
| Plasma profiles | To customer drawings. |
Specification
ASTM A240M. Chromium and chromium-nickel stainless steel plate, sheet and strip for pressure vessels and for general applications.
ASTM 480M. General requirements for flat rolled stainless and heat-resisting steel plate sheet and strip.
Product Finish
Stainless steel coil and plate is supplied from mills throughout the world in hot rolled and cold rolled conditions.
| Product | Product Process | Description | Abbreviation |
| Hot rolled | Hot rolled, annealed and pickled. | Condition and finish preferred for corrosion-resisting and heat-resisting applications. Typically available in thickness 5mm and above. | No. 1 or HRAP |
| Cold rolled | Hot rolled, annealed, descaled, cold rolled, annealed, pickled, final skin pass rolled. | Smooth finish achieved by cold rolling, then annealing and pickling, followed by skin pass rolling. Typically available in thickness up to 8mm. | 2B |
Stainless Steel Flat Product Produced From Coil
The internationally recognised crossover thickness between what is referred to as sheet and plate is 5.0mm. This is specified in ASTM A480M. Therefore, sheet thickness is less than 5.0mm and plate is 5.0mm and over.
It is common practice for large stainless steel coils to be imported into Australia and processed by a specialty metals service centre into smaller coils, sheet, strip and plate. Product over 12mm is imported into Australia as plate only.
Surface Finishes
| Finish | Description |
| 2B | The general-purpose, cold rolled, smooth finish obtained as a result of a final light pass through polished rolls at the mill. |
| BA | Bright annealed finish is a bright, cold rolled, highly reflective finish retained by final annealing in a controlled atmosphere furnace. The finish has large application in the appliance and automotive industry and as a decorative finish in architecture. The brightness and reflectivity is a function of thickness and grade. Consultation is recommended prior to specification in architectural applications. BA finish is usually supplied with a PE or PVC coating as a surface protection. |
| No. 4 | Produced from 2B finish often by a service centre rather than the production mill. It is a general-purpose ground polished finish used widely for kitchen equipment and applications requiring a decorative linished finish. No.4 finish is usually supplied with a PE coating as a surface protection. |
| No.8 | Highly reflective 'mirror' finish. Produced from 2B finish by polishing with successive finer abrasives following by extensive buffing. Mainly used in architectural applications. |
| Customer-specific | A service centre with polishing equipment can produce special finished for specific applications. |
