2050 – 02 – Understanding Metal Manufacturing
All metal products start somewhere. Steel parts begin as a combination of iron ore and other naturally occurring metals. To create pig iron, the step between steel and iron ore, iron is melted with other metals in a blast furnace.
After pig iron becomes steel, it’s poured into molds so that it cools into predetermined shapes. This steel is then shaped into a variety of standard forms that can then be processed by manufacturers.
Many metals undergo a similar refining process. The process of metal manufacturing takes raw materials and turns them into standardized shapes and consistencies.