briefing

Smooth Clean Surface

Laser Cutting & CNC Punching Issue 1

Cleaner, flatter steel with many of the

advantages of HRP&O, but now without
the need for oil
CNC Punching
For many sheet metal components the dry, rust free, SCS product
offers the great advantage that it does not need to be degreased
before the material is painted. SCS sheets are also inherently flatter
due to the coil being tension levelled during the SCS cleaning proc-
ess. Punch tool life with SCS is better than normal HR. The SCS dry
surface stays rust free and ready for the next production process.

LASER CUTTING WELDING

Oil, dirt, and scale on the sheet
surface can cause diffraction,
and rust can cause auto shut-
off due to excessive surface
variation.
The SCS surface is so smooth,
clean and flat that laser and
plasma cutting speeds can be
increased by as much as 50%,
The ‘SCS Lasering Guidelines’ help you
optimise laser setup for increased speed while ‘springback’ is reduced or
with SCS. Visit www.servosteel.co.uk/scs. eliminated. SCS sheets are also
htm to download the guidelines.
inherently flatter due to the coil
being tension levelled during the SCS cleaning process.
• Speed increases of 20–50%
• Laser through two sheets at a time
• Superb quality in cut, pierce and mark
Oil makes welding more difficult; it attracts excess dirt, degrades
weld integrity and increases the level of hazardous fumes. Cleaner
steel makes better welds, so with HR black you either clean (even
grind!) the area to weld, or let
weld integrity suffer.
Clean SCS welds better, giving
a more uniform, stronger bead.
SCS has no oil smoke so metal-
lic particulates disperse much
less. This is important for safe-
guarding your welders’ respira-
tory health.
‘SCS Welding Guidelines’ give you settings
and suggested consumables to optimise SCS • SCS welds tested 20%
welding. Visit www.servosteel.co.uk/scs.htm
stronger than P&O welds
to download the guidelines.
in shear strength tests.
• 30% savings in filler
wire over P&O

PREP AND PAINTING

HR black needs extensive cleanup before painting, plus phosphating pre-treatment to obtain accept-
able adherence and corrosion resistance. P&O steel needs expensive, multi-stage pre-treatment
before painting. Anything less degrades its corrosion resistance.
A lean 2-stage rinse is all that’s needed to prep SCS for most applications. Smooth SCS yields a
superior finish for high gloss paints and better corrosion resistance.
• The SCS process removes surface rust, yielding a highly paintable surface.
• Big savings from ‘leaner’ paint prep with no phosphating stages.
See ‘SCS Paint Prep Guidelines’ for SCS rinse
regimen. Note that SCS surface ‘shadows’—
even from removed rust­—do not show through
the paint. Visit www.servosteel.co.uk/scs.htm to
download the guidelines.
For how long can steel
SCS Line Specifications
cleaned by SCS be stored?
Dimensions 14m x 45m
The SCS process can give material
a much longer shelf life than other Capacity 18000tpm
processes (eg pickled and oiled or hot materials
Hot Rolled/Cold
Reduced
rolled dry). So what proof is there?
thickness 0.9–8mm
Our American friends at TMW recently enlisted the help of a St width 600­–1830mm
Louis Testing Laboratory to test out the claim.
Comparing samples that were bare SCS, continuous in-line P&O
max coil 32tonne
and batch P&O in a high humidity environment, 98% relative
max o.d. 2130mm
humidity at 100 degrees, it was found that:
• After 312 hours both the continuous in- i.d entry 483–965mm
line P&O and batch P&O showed signs of
rust. The SCS samples revealed nothing. i.d exit 508–610mm
• After 384 hours the batch P&O sample showed
pervasive rust spots and the continuous line speed 45mpm
P&O samples showed noticeable edge rust.
The SCS samples revealed nothing.
• Only at 504 hours did the SCS samples reveal
rust - but this was only on the edge of the
sample that had been sheared i.e. a 60% The Environmental
longer exposure than the P&O samples.
benefits of SCS
Other processes where SCS An additional benefit of using SCS in place of HRP&O is
fact that it is friendlier and less damaging to the envi-
can help ronment, unlike steel pickling where hazardous acids
are used and oil has to be applied to prevent rusting.
There are a number of other processes This oil then has to be cleaned off the steel by the
end user.
where SCS gives great benefits over other
SCS Process
traditional steels
• No oil required
• Cleaning mechanism is a non-
Rollforming and Pressbrake chemical physical process
There’s no slip in tooling and its excellent shape yields consistent • The water used in the cleaning process
final product shapes. is re-used many times

NO SHOTBLASTING End User

SCS provides the improved dry surface needed where paint adher- • No oil to remove with solvents
ence and finish are a high priority. • No hazardous welding fumes
• Sheets don’t stick together
Grinding • No skin irritation from oil exposure
SCS eliminates the need to grind away rust since it inhibits rusting
and prevents tools from becoming clogged with P&O oils.

SCS Suppliers
The SCS product can be supplied by most UK SSC’s using Ser-
vosteel’s SCS production line. Servosteel is the UK’s largest toll
processor working for the majority of UK steel service centres and
a number of European steel producers.
Attach your business card here
For more information visit
www.scsprocess.com and www.servosteel.co.uk/scs.htm