Special Steels and Bright Bar

Yes, Macsteel conducts annual reviews and is ISO 9001 :2015 approved.

Macsteel offers comprehensive cut to length services, using 40 saws that include 6 high speed CNC saws for high speed cutting to close tolerances. Macsteel has a fully equipped heat treatment facility that is used to heat treat material for in house stocking purposes and customer’s own materials. Macsteel has a fully equipped laboratory that is able to offer metallurgical services to our customers.

The local market primarily uses the BS970 range of steels. These steels are sourced both locally and internationally and conform in all aspects to the BS970 standards.  Other grades and specifications are available upon enquiry.

Credit facilities are offered on application to qualifying companies.

During the drawing process, the black bar scale layer is partially removed by shot blasting and then sized and elongated to tight dimensional and straightness tolerances which also enhances the mechanical properties of the steel grade.  The peeling process removes the entire scale and decarb layer (porosity) from the black bar.  In this instance, the mechanical properties of the steel grade remain in “as rolled” condition.

The drawing process enhances the mechanical properties of the steel grade, ensures close dimensional and straightness tolerances for precision engineering and a smooth clean surface that saves on machining time and tooling costs.

Mild steel and Free Cutting steel is best suited for welding applications.

EN8 grades contain higher carbon content and a higher Tensile Strength than Mild Steel grades and may be interchanged in some non-critical applications.  Mild Steel grades are not interchangeable with EN8 grades due to the lower carbon content and lower Tensile Strength.

Yes.  Macsteel has cold drawing, peeling, straightening, polishing and grinding machines that enable the production of commercial and precision high quality bright bar products.  In addition, Macsteel has an electronic testing facility for safety critical applications that is endorsed by automotive manufacturers. Macsteel’s technical ability, expertise and experience, supported by its metallurgical and mechanical testing laboratory, provides the ability to complete R & D in collaboration with the steel manufacturers and our customers.  This allows Macsteel to provide customers with a total product solution whether it is for automotive, mining, petro-chemical, power generation, fastener manufacturing or general engineering.

Special steels refer to a category of carbon and alloy steels that have been engineered to possess specific properties or characteristics to suit particular applications. These properties could include enhanced strength, hardness, corrosion resistance, wear resistance, or other specialised traits. Special steels are often tailored through precise alloying, heat treatment, and processing techniques to achieve the desired combination of properties. The diversity of special steels allows industries to select materials that precisely meet their performance requirements, contributing to the efficiency, durability, and reliability of their products and processes.

Carbon steel is a type of steel that primarily consists of iron and carbon, with trace amounts of other elements. It’s one of the most common and widely used types of steel due to its relatively low cost, high tensile strength, and versatility. The carbon content in carbon steel typically ranges from 0.05% to 2.0%, depending on the grade and intended application.
There are several classifications of carbon steel based on the carbon content and other alloying elements:
Low Carbon Steel: Also known as mild steel, low carbon steel contains a relatively low amount of carbon (typically up to 0.3%) and small quantities of other alloying elements. It’s easy to form, weld, and machine, making it suitable for a wide range of applications such as construction, automotive manufacturing, and general engineering.
Medium Carbon Steel: Medium carbon steel contains a higher carbon content (ranging from 0.3% to 0.6%) compared to low carbon steel. It offers increased strength and hardness, but it’s less ductile and more difficult to weld. Medium carbon steel is often used in applications requiring higher strength and wear resistance, such as axles, gears, and shafts.
Carbon steel can be further classified based on its heat treatment and processing, such as annealed, normalized, quenched and tempered, or cold drawn, to achieve specific mechanical properties suited to the intended application.
Alloy steel is a type of steel that contains additional alloying elements apart from carbon and iron. These can include elements such as manganese, silicon, chromium, nickel, molybdenum, vanadium, and others. The addition of these elements alters the properties of the steel, allowing for enhanced strength, hardness, corrosion resistance, and other desirable characteristics.
Alloy steels can also be further categorised based on their heat treatment and processing, such as annealed, normalized, quenched and tempered, or precipitation hardened, to achieve specific mechanical properties tailored to the intended application.
The versatility of carbon and alloy steels allows engineers and manufacturers to select materials with precise combinations of properties to meet the requirements of various industries, including aerospace, automotive, construction, and machinery manufacturing.

Our facility offers Cut to length, Heat Treatment and Metallurgical services.

Our in-house heat treatment facility offers Normalizing, Annealing, Quench and Temper (water and oil) to customer specification. Mechanical testing can be done on application.

EN8 grades contain higher carbon content and a higher Tensile Strength than Mild Steel grades and may be interchanged in some non-critical applications. Mild Steel grades are not interchangeable with EN8 grades due to the lower carbon content and lower Tensile Strength. Please contact our Specialists for advice on what the appropriate steel will be for your application.

Yes. Our Bright Bar facility has cold drawing, peeling, straightening, polishing and grinding machines that enable the production of commercial and precision high quality bright bar products. In addition, Macsteel has an electronic testing facility for safety critical applications that is endorsed by automotive manufacturers. Macsteel’s technical ability, expertise and experience, supported by its metallurgical and mechanical testing laboratory, provides the ability to complete R & D in collaboration with the steel manufacturers and our customers. This allows Macsteel to provide customers with a total product solution whether it is for automotive, mining, petro-chemical, power generation, fastener manufacturing or general engineering.

The lead time is depended on stock availability and the client’s location. The delivery date is dependent on the client’s geographic location which has a direct influence on the route plan. The delivery dates will be communicated to the client by our sales team. Every effort is made to get goods to the customer as soon as possible, this is always dependent on volume per delivery route. On many of our fixed delivery routes we have a predetermined schedule when we deliver. There is flexibility to this schedule.