Changing Raw Material Into Standard Stock with Primary Process

2690 Words6 Pages

1.a Define and describe primary processes

A Primary Process is changing a raw material into a standard stock. This is a rather ambiguous definition as some processes can be a primary process or secondary process depending on the product being produced. For example pig iron from a blast furnace can be standard stock (for cast iron) or it can be sent to a BOS furnace for further processing into steel, which is the standard stock in this case.

Some basic examples of primary processes are:

Wood

Trees are cut down from native, regrowth or plantation forests. The trees are debarked and stripped of their limbs onsite by a special machine. This is then taken to a sawmill where they cut the wood to the correct thickness and length, known as timber. Later this can be treated, dried and shaped as a secondary process.

Steel

Iron ore is dug up from the mines and crushed and screened to the correct size fraction, where it is sent to the blast furnace. The blast furnaces uses iron ore, sinter (agglomeration of iron ore, coke and flux fines), and coke to smelt and reduce the iron oxides into liquid iron. This is done by blasting hot in the bottom of the furnace, combusting the coke and producing reducing gasses which helps reduce the iron oxides into iron. Molten iron is then cast into ladles and sent to the BOS (Basic Oxygen Steelmaking) furnace. A lance is injected into the vessel with oxygen at supersonic speeds to remove the carbon from the molten iron into form molten steel. Alloys are then added and cast into the steel stock (slabs, ingots, bar, ect...)

Aluminium

Bauxite is dug out of the ground and refined into alumina. Alumina is produced commercially by the Bayer Process. This is done by 4 main s...

... middle of paper ...

...the bike by a machine or hand. The chain links are coated in nickel and chrome for corrosion protection, and lubricants to prevent wear from the sprockets.

Overall

Most components of bikes are either made out of steel or aluminium. Aluminium is commonly being used to replace components of steel bicycles as it is much lighter and retains nearly as much strength. Aluminium is more corrosive resistant and has a more aesthetically pleasing surface finish compared to steel. This is extremely important to bicycle design as a product that corrodes less and is lighter appeals to cyclists.

Painting is another important part of bicycle construction. Most parts are painted for corrosion resistance and for aesthetic qualities. Whereas some parts, mainly the moving parts (sprockets and chain) are not painted so paint does not flake off and erode the gear systems.

More about Changing Raw Material Into Standard Stock with Primary Process

Open Document