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Steel Industry Glossary

F

Fading
A coating defect consisting of the condition in a colored coating where the color, either transparent or opaque, appears to get lighter or bleached out. Heat, light, or chemical exposure usually causes fading.

Feather Edge
A sharp reduction in gauge on the edge of a band which is caused be grooves worn in rolls due to extensive rolling of the same width material.  This is done for coating control on edge.  The gauge variations on a feathered edge generally does not extend in from the edge more than one inch.

Finishes
The texture of the steel surface which is determined by the grit on the rolls (See Shot Blast Roll Finish) or by the grind on the rolls in the case of bright finish (See Ground Roll Finish).

Finishing Stand

The last stand in a rolling mill, which determines the surface finish and final gauge.

Finishing Temperature
The temperature at which hot mechanical working of metal is completed.

Fire Cracks
An irregular pattern of lines on the surface of a sheet caused by rolling with a fire cracked roll. Fire cracks will develop when a roll is not properly cooled.

Fish Eyes
A coating defect consisting of the undissolved particles in the coating usually surrounded by a circular crater.  The particles are usually resinous and are raised up from the cured surface with the appearance of the eye of a fish.

Flash Stain
A stain that occurs in the rinse tanks when the line has stopped. It appears blue, green, or black.

Flashburn
A defect made by contact rolls when an arc is passed through the strip. Generally on lighter baseweight. (D.R. coils)

Flashing
A coating defect consisting of the uneven, random distribution of a coating on coated substrate. A variation in the color of a coating which is due to variations of the Film weight. A coating defect consisting of the flame weight fluctuation is caused by disproportionate amount of coating transferring from the application roll.

Flat Coil
Coil that has collapsed center.

Flat Rolled Steel
Steel produced on rolling mills utilizing relatively smooth, cylindrical rolls. The width to thickness ratio of flat rolled products is usually fairly large. Examples of flat rolled steel are hot-rolled, cold-rolled, and coated sheets and coils, tin mill products, etc.

Flatness
The absence of any gap or clearance when a strip is placed, without applying any pressure, between two parallel-faced plates. Wherever a gap exists under this condition, the strip is "unflat". There are two kinds of "unflatness"--thickness non-uniformity (such as frown, profile, etc.) and geometric non-uniformity called shape defects such as (wavy strip, bent strip, coil set, center buckle, etc.).

Flocculation
A coating defect consisting of the formation of clusters of particles separable by relatively weak mechanical forces, or by a change in the physical forces at the interface between the liquid and the dispersed particles.

Flow Marks
A coating defect consisting of the poor flow out of the coating on the substrate causing a ribbed (ribbing) or ridged appearance.

Fluting
1. Visible line markings that sometimes appear on the surface of flat rolled products during forming; associated with non-uniform yielding of the metal; occurs when the steel is formed into cylindrical or arc shaped parts.  2. The kinking, or breaking of a sheet generally caused by curing the sheet on two small a diameter. Fluting, or paneling as it is often called, can be avoided by working the steel before bending. Steel with a definite yield point (a visible break in the stress-strain curve) will generally tend to flute.

Footage of Coil
The length of the steel strip that makes up a coil.

Front End
The inside lap of the produced coil, or the outside lap of the consumed coil.

Full Hard Cold Rolled
Hot rolled pickled steel that is cold reduced to a specified thickness and subject to no further processing (not annealed or temper rolled). The product is very stiff; it is intended for flat work where deformation is very minimal.

Full Hard Temper

Full Hard Cold Rolled steel produced to a Rockwell hardness of 84 and higher on the B scale.

Full Hard

Cold rolled coils coming from the Strip Steel that have not been annealed.

 

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