Product Information - Fabrication

1 Product Information Contents 1. THE XLERPLATE STEEL STORY. A long and proud heritage .. 6. Producing the best .. 8. The Plate Mill .. 10. The Hot Strip Mill .. 12. 2. Product REFERENCE STANDARDS. General specifi cations .. 16. Boiler and pressure vessel grades .. 22. Tolerances .. 30. 3. TECHNICAL Information . Flame cutting .. 42. Plasma cutting .. 44. Laser cutting .. 45. Corrosion prevention .. 46. Forming and bending .. 48. Welding .. 54. Ultrasonic testing AS 1710 .. 58. Marking and identifi cation of XLERPLATE steel products .. 62. XLERPLATE steel order checklist .. 64. XLERPLATE steel 66. XLERPLATE steel Product Information 3. The XLERPLATE . steel story A long and proud heritage The roots of BlueScope Steel Limited BEST PRACTICE. and the evolution of XLERPLATE steel From the outset of its involvement in are entwined in the foundation of The the steel industry, BHP had international Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited focus.

2 Exports began in the fi rst year of (BHP) established in 1885, to mine silver, steel production and the company has lead and zinc in far western New South benchmarked itself against world's best Wales. By 1915, the company had moved practice ever since. into steelmaking, opening a works at Newcastle to meet Australia's growing John Lysaght (Australia) Pty Ltd, an demand for steel products. innovator in steel coating and painting technology, became a wholly owned The modern BlueScope Steel has evolved subsidiary in 1979 and New Zealand Steel from the union of BHP with two other was acquired in 1989. pioneer companies in the Australian steel industry, John Lysaght (Australia) Pty Ltd Excess global steelmaking capacity caused and Australian Iron & Steel Limited. BHP to close the Newcastle Steelworks in 1999 and to redouble its efforts to become In 1928, Australian Iron & Steel Limited a more ef cient, cost-effective supplier to (AI&S) was formed to operate a steelworks local markets.

3 At Port Kembla in New South Wales. AI&S was acquired by BHP in 1935 and that steelworks has grown to become one of the world's most successful and effi cient steel plants. The quality of its products, including XLERPLATE steel, has contributed to BlueScope Steel's globally competitive position. 6 XLERPLATE steel Product Information A long and proud heritage A NEW BEGINNING ONGOING EXPANSION. In March 2001, BHP announced two In April 2004, BlueScope Steel acquired major decisions: that it was merging with Butler Manufacturing in the United States. the Anglo-African mining house Billiton Founded in 1901, Butler Manufacturing is plc to form a dual-listed company called today the leading designer and producer of BHP Billiton; and that BHP Steel was to be pre-engineered buildings in North America spun out as a separate Australian publicly and China.

4 Butler is based in Kansas listed company. City and sells through 4,000 independent dealers and contractors, and through BHP Steel was listed on the Australian strategic alliances with other corporations. Stock Exchange on 15 July 2002 and adopted the new name, BlueScope Steel In 2007, BlueScope Steel acquired the in November 2003, not long after it had metal distribution assets of the Smorgon launched the brand name XLERPLATE Steel Group and transformed them into the steel for its range of high quality hot rolled BlueScope Distribution business, which plate steel. operates a unique national chain of 50. processing and distribution centres. Today, BlueScope Steel is Australia's largest steel company, manufacturing around fi ve million tonnes of fl at steel products each year.

5 This includes the production of more than 450,000 tonnes of XLERPLATE steel which is used in literally thousands of applications; from bridge girders to ship building and water reservoir construction, to wind towers, mining equipment and pressure vessels. XLERPLATE steel Product Information 7. Producing the best Each year the Port Kembla Steelworks' manufacturing technology, overseen by a blast furnaces produce more than fi ve highly skilled workforce and supported by million tonnes of liquid iron, the raw technical and administrative teams with a material for steelmaking. total customer focus. To produce XLERPLATE steel and the QUALITY ASSURANCE. other steel products that Australian and BlueScope Steel holds ISO 9001 Quality export markets rely on, the liquid iron Management System Accreditation and all is combined with scrap steel in a basic XLERPLATE steel is tested to ensure that oxygen steelmaking (BOS) vessel, where customers receive steel that is consistent oxygen and fl uxes remove impurities.

6 With their order. If the Product is intended The liquid steel produced by this process for critical applications, a more detailed is treated to incorporate the specifi c off-line' inspection can be arranged. properties required, then transferred to a TEST CERTIFICATES. continuous slab casting process, where liquid steel is poured into a mould, and Comprehensive test certifi cates are continuously withdrawn and cut to the provided for all XLERPLATE steel products length required for processing. and BlueScope Steel quality control laboratories are registered with the One measure of the quality of steel National Association of Testing Authorities produced by BlueScope Steel using this (NATA). An authorised inspector can process is its tier one' grading by export witness mechanical testing on request and customers for slabs.

7 Endorse the test certifi cate. Steel sold under the XLERPLATE brand is LOCAL FLEXIBLE SUPPLY. produced by the Port Kembla Plate Mill, a facility which has undergone several major For steel-intensive projects BlueScope upgrades in its 45-year history as a key Steel collaborates with its distributors supplier to Australian industry. and major customers to provide fl owed'. deliveries of XLERPLATE steel to meet Exceptional quality, service and support Fabrication needs and to reduce project are the benchmarks of XLERPLATE steel costs by minimising sorting, handling supplied by BlueScope Steel. This is and storage. achieved by a combination of advanced 8 XLERPLATE steel Product Information Producing the best ORDERING ONLINE For more Information about our free technical support service, call BlueScope To simplify the process of ordering Steel Direct on 1800 800 789 within steel and doing business with BlueScope Australia.

8 Steel, provides online access 24 hours a day, STEEL RECYCLING. seven days a week. Scrap steel is an important ingredient in Our OrderIntegrator system for single all steel produced. The Blast Furnace-Basic point data entry delivers time savings, Oxygen Steelmaking (BF-BOS) process productivity enhancements and reduced undertaken at Port Kembla Steelworks, error potential, while giving more control and the Electric Arc Furnace (EAF). over orders. production method, both require scrap steel. This means that steel is one of the At many materials in the world to have a customers can access their repeat order guaranteed recycled content. catalogue, select items, quantities and delivery timing required, then submit their Steel production can be limited by scrap order.

9 Importantly an Order Status facility availability. BF-BOS recycled content on the site allows the progress of orders proportions may also be limited by the to be monitored through the post- availability of scrap, however, there are production process. also technical limitations. These factors result in the proportion of scrap material Other practical advantages offered by used in the BF-BOS process by BlueScope include in Australia is on average 17-20%. real-time invoices and statements, printable test certifi cates (including From a sustainability point of view, the historical certifi cates) and the ability to proportion of steel recovered for recycling check the despatch history of purchases. at the end of each usage-phase is more relevant than the recycled content of any TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE given Product at a particular point in time.

10 XLERPLATE steel is backed by a level of In sustainability terms, no goods or service support which is simply not available for should be evaluated by a single metric . steel sourced elsewhere. An experienced the full life cycle of the Product should be technical team can provide support for taken into account; including all positive XLERPLATE steel related projects. and negative effects on the environment, society and economy, from cradle to grave. XLERPLATE steel Product Information 9. The Plate Mill The high quality hot rolled XLERPLATE Blasting with high pressure water removes steel is produced at the Port Kembla surface scale from the reheated slabs Steelworks' Plate Mill a key supplier to and prepares them for the rolling process. Australian industry and a facility which has In the fi rst stage of the rolling process undergone several major upgrades in its the slab undergoes a series of passes 45-year history.