By J. Kb

19 thoughts on “Why as a metallurgist I don’t trust Chinese steel (graphic)”
    1. 1. I’ll bet there wasn’t a single fire extinguisher or blanket, nor training on how to use them in that facility (or most others).
      2. I’d be interested to know if after that incident, they decided to dump their loads of recycling material OUTSIDE of hell’s doorway and then push it in with one of those metal bars laying around instead.

  1. That guy that was actually walking around on fire may be the worst thing I have seen. I presume the guy falling in died instantly.
    I have video of an electrician working on a large box outside IN THE RAIN when it exploded. Ugly.

    1. Or perhaps calcium?

      J.Kb, seriously, from a metallurgical standpoint what would be most problematic about this?

      1. I would think that a shop operating in such a careless fashion isn’t likely to pay much attention to correct metallurgy either. Remember that in China it’s perfectly legal knowingly to export defective and hazardous products. It’s only when you sell them within the country that you might face legal trouble.

        1. This is a massive problem with dealers buying from there. Often enough, a “shop” will sell a very wrong shipment, pocket the money, then shut down. Dealer is out money with worthless metals and has zero legal recourse, and the offender will be back on the market in a year under a new name to run the scam again.

  2. Steel is not steel. Every steel has a different set of characteristics. The more you want to control for any particular characteristic the more expensive the steel and the more likely it is to meet standards.

    Some steels I work with on a regular basis:
    1018
    A-36
    12L14
    303
    304
    4041

    There are others but I would have to look them up. 303,304 are stainless.
    12L14 has lead added to the steel to make it easy to machine. Rusts like a bitch though.
    4041 is a good steel and I would have to look it up.

    1018 and A-36 are JUNK steel. If you go to a hardware store and buy a piece of steel and it doesn’t have a gray crust on the outside, it is likely 1018. If it has a gray crust on it, it is A-36. Most structural steel is A-36. That would be I Beams and such.

    The real difference in these junk steels is that 1018 is cold rolled and A36 is hot rolled.

    The fact that they were dumping random metal into that pot tells me that they were making 1018 or A36. That’s how it is made. Take random steel and mix it all together. The specifications are so low for both that even if you had a bunch of carbon and other trace elements (humans) it isn’t going to negatively affect the steel so much it can’t get an A36 or 1018 rating.

    Regardless, the disregard for human life in some of these foreign steel mills is mind boggling. You’d think the safety officer was Joe Biden.

  3. I love the comment on Twitter about how ‘oh he was wearing an asbestos suit’. Yeah, like the CCP cares so much about their workers they’d equip them with fireproof gear.

    We get a fair amount of Chinese iron and steel where I work. The steel is generally good, but I suspect it’s because the plant was originally German and (in a surprise twist) when China bought it, they just kept everything the same and changed the name on the plant. Shockingly good sense there.

    The iron, on the other hand, ranges from ‘decent’ to ‘what the crap’. We had some sample parts come in where there was a HUGE void in the casting, and someone had just… filled it in with weld and then galvanized over it.

  4. Plus, imaging immersing yourself in a pool of molten metal at 1700 degrees f, wearing any-freaking-thing.

    The only difference is how long it takes you to die.

    No foundry experience. Simply an old medic.

  5. Everyone wonders why Chinese stuff is so cheap?

    Shiw them these videos.

    Remind them that China uses slave labor like Uighyurs and other prisoners. .

  6. Reminds me of all the horror stories ive heard from working the rolling mill business about china and to a lesser extent south east asia.

    Dirt floors and open air facilities. Safety 99th. One 8×8 room with literally one lightbulb, a wood stove, and the 10 man engineering department in it etc etc.

    You lf course had horrie injuries from fadt moving strips and getting sucked into rollers but the worst story i heard was a guy standing on the edge of a hot dip zinc tank tge strip passed though fell in feet first up to his waist.

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