Surface defects significantly lower the quality of manufactured metals. Defects not only affect the bottom line by leading to waste and scrap, they also have detrimental consequences on your company image since they are the main cause of customer complaints. All metal production or processing, whether it is steel, aluminum or other non-ferrous metals, is comprised of a complex chain of production steps. These include not only hot rolling, cold rolling, pickling, annealing, galvanizing, tin-plating, tempering, coating, etc. but everything from casting to delivery. The sheer complex nature of the manufacturing process itself and the associated production variances is the main cause of the inherent defects. Any type of defect, induced at any point within these processes, could immensely impair the quality of the material. On rolled materials, these defects are primarily reflected on the surfaces of the material; hence surface defects play a crucial role with respect to quality. The consequences of surface defects are numerous: they range from a lower sales price to added expenses caused by additional material, personnel or other production costs. Defects can also cause line stoppages and even equipment damage. Revenue is affected because of the inability to meet delivery terms or produce material per quality standards. In today's highly optimized production processes, security of delivery counts for a large extent of the metal's value. Therefore, productivity initiatives which are dedicated to the improvement of the product quality and to the enhancement of the process itself are needed for metal producers to gain a competitive advantage on their competition.
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