Steel angle, also named angle iron, or steel angle bar, is basically manufactured by hot-rolled carbon steel or high strength low alloy steel. It has L-cross shaped section with two legs - equal or unequal and the angle would be 90 degree. Structural steel angles have lots of dimensions to comply with your uses. In addition, bespoke sizes are available.

As popular structural material, angle steel is largely used in bridge building, construction and engineering. According to the steel content, angle steel can be divided into mild steel angle and HSLA steel angle.

Mild carbon steel angle contains A36, S235JR, q235, SS400, SS490, ST37.

HSLA carbon steel angle contains A572 & A588.

According to the surface treatment, angle steel has three types - black (no treatment), hot-dip galvanized and painted.

Many uses of steel angle bars:

Supporting & structural factors - bridges, warehouses, shelves, cable towers, power towers, communication towers, equipment, etc.

Everyday life uses - bed frames, chairs, benches, fencing posts, frames for supporting air conditioner, coffee tables and so on.

Angle steel can form various stress components according to different structural needs, and can also be used as connectors between components. It is widely used in various building structures and engineering structures, such as house beams, bridges, transmission towers, hoisting and transportation machinery, ships, industrial furnaces, reaction towers, container racks, cable trench supports, power piping, bus support installation, warehouse shelves, etc.

Angle steel belongs to carbon structural steel for construction. It is a section steel with simple section. It is mainly used for metal components and plant frame. In use, it is required to have good weldability, plastic deformation performance and certain mechanical strength. The raw material billet for angle steel production is low-carbon square billet, and the finished angle steel is delivered in hot rolling forming, normalizing or hot rolling state.

It is mainly divided into equilateral angle steel and unequal angle steel. Unequal angle steel can be divided into unequal edge equal thickness and unequal edge unequal thickness. And perforated angle steel. We also produce H-section steel.

The specification of angle steel is expressed by the dimension of side length and side thickness. At present, the specification of domestic angle steel is 2-20, with the number of centimeters of side length as the number. The same angle steel often has 2-7 different side thicknesses. The actual size and thickness of both sides of the imported angle steel shall be indicated, and relevant standards shall be indicated. Generally, large angle steel is used when the side length is more than 12.5cm, medium angle steel is used when the side length is between 12.5cm and 5cm, and small angle steel is used when the side length is less than 5cm.

The order of import and export angle steel is generally based on the specifications required in use, and its steel grade is the corresponding carbon steel grade. It is also an angle steel. In addition to the specification number, there is no specific composition and performance series. The delivery length of angle steel is divided into fixed length and double length. The fixed length selection range of domestic angle steel is 3-9m, 4-12m, 4-19m and 6-19m according to the specification number. The length selection range of angle steel made in Japan is 6-15m.

The section height of unequal angle steel is calculated according to the length and width of unequal angle steel. It refers to steel with angular section and unequal length on both sides. It is one of the angle steel. Its side length is 25mm × 16mm～200mm × l25mm。 It is rolled by hot rolling mill.

The specification of general unequal angle steel is: ∟ 50 * 32 — ∟ 200 * 125, and the thickness is 4-18mm.

Unequal angle steel is widely used in various metal structures, bridges, machinery manufacturing and shipbuilding, various building structures and engineering structures, such as house beams, bridges, transmission towers, hoisting and transportation machinery, ships, industrial furnaces, reaction towers, container racks and warehouses.

The imported angle steel varieties are mostly large and small angle steel and angle steel with special shape, and the export varieties are mostly medium angle steel, such as No. 6, No. 7, etc.

Appearance quality

The surface quality of angle steel is specified in the standard. Our factory strictly requires that there shall be no harmful defects in use, such as delamination, scab, crack, etc.

The allowable range of geometric deviation of angle steel is also specified in the standard, generally including bending, side width, side thickness, top angle, theoretical weight, etc., and it is specified that the angle steel shall not have significant torsion.

10 things to keep in mind about angle iron 

Angle iron lends itself to a wide variety of projects, as long as you know its traits and take fullest advantage of them. To get the most out of this flexible structural material, you should keep these 10 things in mind to aid you in obtaining a quality supply, managing logistics on your end, and using angle iron—or alternatives—to optimal effect.

Supply

Good projects come from good materials. Good materials come from good suppliers. So keep these four factors in mind as you investigate your potential suppliers, so you can make the best possible decision for your goals.

1) Quality Materials 

If you don’t start from the beginning with a solid supply of high-quality materials, you’re going to regret it down the line—at best, you’re going to waste time closely inspecting each piece of iron for quality, at worst you’ll only realize you had low quality materials when a completed project begins seeing long-term problems. Regardless, you want to check your suppliers’ sources to make sure they’re top-notch, in full compliance with all necessary standards and expectations for your needs.

2) Flexibility

A good supplier of angle iron shouldn’t struggle to meet your demands when you need to make a slim adjustment. They may have to charge you more for the trouble, but they shouldn’t completely dead end on a last-minute request for materials, and unusual shipping requirement, or other problems. Part of being a top notch supplier is having a firm grasp on logistics—a supplier which isn’t flexible isn’t a good supplier.

3)Broad inventory. 

When you need other materials for a project, or decide to move over to an alternative, you don’t want to have to familiarize yourself with another company representative, go through another round of questions and answers, another headache of familiarizing yourself with policies and habits. And you certainly don’t want to have to track your relationship with another supplier. So work with companies which offer a broad inventory, suitable for the majority or entirety of your metal supply needs.

4) Knowledgeable Staff 

A respectable supplier of angle iron or any other structural material should be able to answer your questions about that material, alternatives, limitations, and various tricks, tips, and workarounds without much trouble. You can measure the overall quality of a supplier quite easily by investigating the depth of knowledge on display by representatives and employees of that supplier. If they don’t know anything about what they’re selling, they can’t guarantee quality, they can’t be sure they’re handling your materials correctly, and they can’t help you make the best choice of purchase.

Handling and storage

It’s easy to forget the place and time between the supplier’s yard and the completed project, making this an area rife with waste and mistakes in managing angle iron. Be certain you’re properly equipped and ready to keep your materials safe, secure, and easily accessed.

5) Safe For The Mental

If you’re working with non-galvanized angle iron, you’re going to want to be especially careful with your storage, as moisture can and will result in unsightly, potentially compromising rust damage. Regardless, one third of your consideration in handling and storing your angle iron should be with regards to keeping your materials safe and sound—iron it tough, but it’s not impossible to damage, warp, and otherwise compromise.

6) Safe For Your Staff 

However you store your materials, they need to be safe for workers. You don’t want to be responsible for a stack of angle iron coming down on an employee’s foot—or worse. Make sure you implement secure, easily accessible storage. If it encourages shortcuts and corner cutting, it’s not a safe way to store your iron, practically speaking. Which leads us into the third consideration quite nicely…

7)Efficiency

The less time you and your employees waste hauling materials into and out of your safe, secure storage, the less money you’re wasting on the whole endeavor. Make sure you consider the practical aspects of how you’ll be using your angle iron as you develop a storage and handling solution. If easing the process means investing in a few tools to do it all right, so be it—you’ll come out ahead in the long term.

Usage And Alternatives

Here, we have three tips for you to consider on the usage traits of angle iron, and two oft-mentioned alternatives for structures.

1) Traits

Angle iron offers a nice mix of traits for many projects, providing good mechanical strength, good weldability, and solid deformation properties. These traits have led to the materials use in building structures, machinery, storage containers, trailers, industrial furnaces, and dozens if not hundreds of other projects. You can use it as a primary portion of your structure, or simply to connect components.

2) VS. C-CHANNEL. 

While a bit more expensive, c-channel is significantly more rugged in most applications than equivalent quality angle iron. In projects where either is viable without introducing issues of expense or simple engineering headaches, many will prefer c-channel. Thorough engineering analysis for commercial projects, or careful consideration of your specific needs for non-commercial products, will determine which you should use.

3) VS. SQUARE TUBING.

A relatively expensive alternative at similar densities and quality, it’s often beneficial to use square tubing over angle iron when you can’t properly predict forces to be exerted on your structure—angle iron is far more likely to deform under forces you’ve failed to account for in your building than square tubing. That said, don’t over-engineer and waste funds unnecessarily–make the right decision for your budget and needs.

So there you have it; 10 things you should keep in mind about angle iron, from supply to finished structure. Follow these tips and you’re certain to get more out of your iron, minimizing the waste of materials, time, and other resources over the course of your project.