Look up our glossary of terms all in one place
Glossary
| ACMS | Aluminium Coated Mild Steel. Tube rolled from hot dipped aluminium coated steel strip, with aluminium coating both sides. Typical applications include heat resistant applications such as automotive exhausts and domestic gas heaters. |
| BMT | Base Metal Thickness. The base thickness of the steel material without any coating applied to it. L0 L0 is the impact property designation AS/NZS 1163. L refers to guaranteed impact properties, 0 is the low temperature impact test at 0 degrees. This is used to define product suitability for low temperature applications. Refer to section 1.7.1 of this catalogue for the relationship with steel grades. |
| ERW | Electric Resistance Welding. |
| HRSB | Hot Rolled Semi Bright. Tube has typical steel grey appearance, surface is suitable for general applications and is ideal for paint or powder coated processes. Typical applications include racking, shelving, fitness equipment, cargo barriers etc. HTGB Hi Tensile Galvabond®. High strength tube rolled from hot dipped zinc coated steel strip with zinc coating both sides. Typical applications include outdoor tubular products where greater strength and reduced weight is required. |
| MAXI-TUBE® | A zinc-alloy coated steel section that shows high corrosion resistance in many aggressive environments. |
| MDMT | Material Design Minimum Temperature. |
| MSBL | Mild Steel Black. Tube has a black, mill finish. Ideal for hot dipped galvanised applications such as signs or fence posts. |
| MSBR | Mild Steel Bright. Tube has a bright finish and is typically used in the manufacture of products that require a higher grade surface finish such as electroplating or similar critical finish applications. Typical applications include domestic & commercial furniture, chrome plated lawn mower handles etc. This material is seldom used given cost and low demand. |
| MSGB | Mild Steel Galvabond®. Tube rolled from hot dipped zinc coated steel strip, with zinc coating both sides. Typical applications include exterior use such as tubular fencing, outdoor furniture and promotional signage. |
| NB | Nominal Bore. Refers to a set of standard pipe sizes (designated NB) with a nominal inner pipe diameter in millimetres. Equivalent to the European DN (diameter nominal) and the North American NPS, Nominal Pipe Size. Actual dimensions vary due to metric designations of an imperial pipe size. |
| NOPC | No oil or paint coating |
| PICKLED STEEL | Steel that has gone through a process of pickling which is a surface treatment used to remove impurities, such as stains, inorganic contaminants, rust or scale. |
| SEMB | Semi Bright. Tube has typical steel grey appearance and has a suitable surface for general applications. Ideal where demanding and consistent properties are required. Typical applications include domestic and commercial furniture, exhaust systems, shelving etc. |
| ANGLE LINE | A machine tool that uses a conveyor to move an angle section into position, then drills holes. The drill moves but the angle is static. |
| ASSEMBLY & SHAFT DRAWINGS | Drawings where overall dimensions of the assembled object are usually indicated, but the detailed dimension for manufacture is excluded. |
| BAND SAW | A band saw is a machine which uses a blade consisting of a continuous band of metal with teeth along one edge to cut steel sections. |
| BEAM LINE | An automatic structural steel processing system. This includes cutting, drilling, coping, and bevelling processes. The components in the line include band saws and drilling machines. |
| BEARING PLATE | A flat steel plate used under the end of a wall-bearing beam to distribute the load over a broader area. |
| BISPLATE® & HARDOX® | Brand names for wear plate. A high strength, wear resistant, and armour grade steel plate. It is a quench and tempered plate. |
| BORING | In machining, boring is the process of enlarging a hole that has already been drilled or cast, by means of a single-point cutting tool. Boring is used to achieve greater accuracy of the diameter of a hole, and can be used to cut a tapered hole. |
| BROACHING | Broaching is a machining process that uses a toothed tool, called a broach, to remove material. The two main types of broaching are linear and rotary. |
| CHECKER / FLOOR PLATE | A type of slip-resistant floor plate with a distinctive raised pattern that is used for walkways and platforms. |
| COPING | Coping a beam assures it can be fixed to an intersecting column, or another beam, by eliminating a part that could be an interference. Machinery builders developed a means whereby the beam is rolled into a “cutting box” and this is done in a beam line. |
| GUSSET | A steel plate used to connect two or more structural members in the same plane. Often used to strengthen the section beneath the bottom flange. |
| HAUNCH | Also known as a Knee. The deepened portion of a column or rafter, designed to accommodate the high stress where column and rafter intersect and connect. |
| HOT ROLLED | A steel section that is shaped by rollers in a semi-molten state. |
| FAST CAM | A software system for fabrication of steel elements and all types of processes that go with it. It includes an integrated drawing editor and is fully compatible with CAD and other industry standard files. A quoting system is also built-in to this. |
| FITTINGS | The term also used to describe cleats and items that are welded onto beams and columns. |
| LASER CUTTING | A process that cuts material with the heat obtained by directing a laser beam against a metal surface. |
| PFC | Parallel Flange Channel. |
| PLASMA CUTTING | Plasma cutters work by sending an electric arc through a gas that is passing through a constricted opening. As the metal being cut is part of the circuit, the electrical conductivity of the plasma causes the arc to transfer to the work. |
| PLATE PROFILE CUTTING BED | A platform used to support the plate material whilst cutting with the oxy, plasma, or laser cutting machine. |
| MERCHANT BAR | A steel section that is hot rolled from a billet into a round, square, hexagonal or other shape. |
| SCALE | Layers of iron oxide formed on the surface of hot steel when oxygen from the atmosphere combines with iron from the steel. Also referred to as Mill Scale. |
| SHOP DRAWINGS | The drawings used to manufacture the steel components for a structure. |
| UA | Unequal Angle section |
| UB | Universal Beam. The section is used as a beam and is an I shape section. A structural member which is ordinarily subject to bending and is usually a horizontal member carrying vertical loads. |
| UC | Universal Column. The section is used as a column and is a H shape section. |
| ULTIMATE TENSILE STRENGTH | The maximum stress a material can withstand before the cross section of the product starts to fracture or fail. |
| WEB STIFFENER | A plate that is welded in between the bottom and top flanges to create stability and strength for the web of the section. |
| YIELD STRESS/STRENGTH | Stress / Strength measurement at which steel first exhibits plastic deformation. Beyond this point it does not return to it’s original form after the stress has been removed. |
| YIELD POINT | The stress at which material permanently deforms. This is the same stress as the yield strength and is another way of describing it. |
| 250 MPa YIELD (PLATE) | Plate with yield strength grade ≥ 250 MPa and tensile strength ≥ 410 MPa. |
| 300 MPa (HR PRODUCT) | YIELD Hot Rolled Structural Product with yield strength grade ≥ 300 MPa and tensile strength ≥ 440 MPa. |
| 350 MPa YIELD (PLATE) | Plate with yield strength grade ≥ 350 MPa and tensile strength ≥ 450 MPa. |