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Figure 1: Skin-pass mill position in the production line
Skin-pass: A refinement steel process
Skin-pass is a crucial final step in the rolling process for steel sheets. It's employed to:
- Enhance surface finish:
Removing surface imperfections like mill scale and scratches.
Creating a smoother surface: is essential for painting, coating, and other finishing processes.
- Improve dimensional accuracy:
Reducing variations in thickness and width, ensuring precise dimensions. Which is crucial for applications requiring tight tolerances, such as automotive body panels.
- Enhance mechanical properties:
Slightly increasing the strength and hardness of the steel.
- Improve formability:
Reducing the risk of cracking or breaking of the steel thanks to a smoother surface.
The skin-pass mill
The steel sheet is passed through several stands, with each stand reducing the thickness and improving the surface finish.
Figure 2: Skin-pass Mill
What are the key factors affecting skin-pass?
The distance between the rolls determines the extent of thickness reduction.
The speed of the rolls can influence the rate of deformation.
The rolls' surface will determine how smooth the final product is.
Reducing friction results in a product with a higher quality.
Skin-pass techniques
Precision skin-pass:
Using highly precise rolls and controlled rolling conditions this can achieve extremely smooth surface finishes and precise dimensional tolerances.
Multi-Stand Skin-pass:
This technique uses multiple stands to achieve a high degree of reduction and improve the overall quality of the steel sheet.
Quality control steps in skin-pass
Check the surface for scratches, pits, or stains.
Measure thickness, width, and flatness.
Test tensile strength, yield strength, and elongation.
Analyze the microstructure of the steel.
Which industries require steel to have a skin-pass treatment?
Automotive Industry:
High-quality steel sheets for car bodies, fenders, and other components.
Construction Industry:
Roofing, cladding, and structural components.
Home appliances:
Refrigerators, washing machines, and other appliances.
Which steel products commonly undergo a skin-pass process?
Skin-pass treatment is primarily applied to flat-rolled steel products that require a superior surface finish, dimensional accuracy, and specific mechanical properties. Here are some common steel products that undergo skin-pass:
For automotive, construction, and home appliances usage requiring accurate flatness and a high formability.
Used in construction and infrastructure projects due to its corrosion resistance which needs an enhanced surface finish to improve paintability.
In automotive, construction, and home appliances industries need a high accuracy regarding thickness, width, and length.
In the making of kitchenware, cars, and medical equipment requiring a high surface finish.
Used in electrical transformers and motors production.
Skin pass is a crucial step in improving steel properties. By knowing the application, the manufacturers can use skin-pass to achieve the required improvement to their products.
