What is a crucible in steel making?

What is a crucible in steel making?

Crucible steel is steel made by melting pig iron (cast iron), iron, and sometimes steel, often along with sand, glass, ashes, and other fluxes, in a crucible. In ancient times steel and iron were impossible to melt using charcoal or coal fires, which could not produce temperatures high enough.

Is crucible steel still open?

Crucible declined in tandem with the automotive industry during the 1980s, recovering over the next decade. Although the company entered bankruptcy in 2009, JP Industries of Cleveland revived it as Crucible Specialty Metals Division to continue producing specialty steels at its original site.

What is crucible steel used for?

Externally heated (by gas heating or electrical heating) steel crucibles are also used industrially to hold molten metal which is refined and pumped into casting machine. Molten magnesium requires an inhibitive gas film above it during casting to prevent it from oxidizing.

How good is crucible steel?

Crucible steel is always high carbon if not ultra-high carbon steel (UHCS). This is generally not so good. However, mixtures that would, for example, have produced 0.8 % carbon steel, a steel optimal for many applications, would not melt at the temperatures available. Crucible steel thus is a compromise.

What does a crucible do?

Used from ancient times as a container for melting or testing metals, crucibles were probably so named from the Latin word crux, “cross” or “trial.” Modern crucibles may be small laboratory utensils for conducting high-temperature chemical reactions and analyses or large industrial vessels for melting and calcining …

How does a crucible work?

Crucibles have been used for thousands of years to make alloys and cast metals. To melt metal inside of a crucible, the materials are placed inside and heated until they reach their melting point. You can make a new alloy by melting a combination of materials with other elements inside of the crucible.

What material is a crucible made of?

Ceramic crucible Ceramic crucibles are made from kiln-fired clay and are stable at high temperatures. They have been used in metalworking for over 7000 years. Modern ceramic crucibles are often manufactured with clay and graphite to ensure durability.

Who invented crucible steel?

Benjamin Huntsman
Benjamin Huntsman, (born June 4, 1704, Lincolnshire, Eng. —died June 20, 1776, Attercliffe, Yorkshire), Englishman who invented crucible, or cast, steel, which was more uniform in composition and freer from impurities than any steel previously produced.

Can a crucible melt steel?

Thus they can be used to melt cast iron, limited number of times. I would not recommend these crucibles for melting steel. A good choice would be zirconia crucible, both from the point of view of temperature rating and minimal contamination of steel.

Why is it called a crucible?

The events that took place during the time the play was written were very similar to the Salem witch hunts. This is why Miller named the book “The Crucible” after the Salem Witch Trials.

Is crucible steel good for knives?

Made by US based Crucible, CPM S30V (often simply referred to as S30V) steel has excellent edge retention and resists rust effortlessly. It was designed in the US and is typically used for the high-end premium pocket knives and expensive kitchen cutlery.

What is difference between crucible and furnace?

Crucible melting and cupola operation are two types of furnaces that can be used to melt solid substances. The key difference between crucible melting and cupola operation is that crucible melting requires a furnace made of ceramic whereas cupola operation uses steel for the preparation of the furnace.

What is the best material for a crucible?

Alumina (Al2O3) Crucibles It is the most commonly used crucible for lab research use. The material has a high melting point is and relatively chemically inert.

What is crucible steel?

Crucible steel. However, pig iron, having a higher carbon content thus a lower melting point, could be melted, and by soaking wrought iron or steel in the liquid pig-iron for long periods of time, the carbon content of the pig iron could be reduced as it slowly diffused into the iron. Crucible steel of this type was produced in South…

How many mills does Crucible have?

By 1939, Crucible was the largest producer of tool steel in the United States, making over 400 products (more than any other steel company). It had nine mills in four states, two coal mines, a water company and a half-interest in a Mesabi ore mine.

How many employees does crucible steel have?

During the 1990s, Crucible expanded its operations to Canada, working with General Motors, and building a 35,000-square-foot (3,300 m 2) facility with newly patented smelting and processing equipment costing $25 million. Although the number of employees increased to about 1,400, from 2001 to 2003, 200 were laid off.