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Z-LINE
U. S. Steel Canada’s premier zinc-coating line
U. S. Steel Canada’s Hamilton Works is home to one of
North America’s premier zinc-coating lines. The Z-Line was
formerly a joint venture with Mitsubishi Corporation, but in
2010, U. S. Steel Canada bought out their minority partner and
assumed 100-percent ownership of the facility.
INTR OD U C T I ON
Designed to produce world class galvanized and
galvannealed sheet steel, the Z-Line has allowed
U. S. Steel Canada to become a leader in many key
markets, including the steel intensive automotive sector.
U. S. Steel Canada’s steelmaking operations consist of
Hamilton Works and Lake Erie Works, two fully integrated
steelmaking facilities which together have the capability of
producing approximately 4.9 million tons of steel annually and
employ more than 2,200 people.
Hamilton Works is located on the shore of Lake Ontario in
Hamilton, Ontario. Lake Erie Works is about an hour’s drive
south, and is located in Nanticoke, Ontario, on the shores
of Lake Erie. U. S. Steel Canada produces high quality steel
that is used primarily in the North American automotive,
construction, infrastructure, appliance, manufacturing and
pipe and tube industries.
U. S. Steel Canada is a wholly owned subsidiary of United
States Steel Corporation – one of the largest producers of
flat-rolled sheet steel in the world. With a comprehensive
portfolio of steel products, enhanced production capabilities,
and a strong commitment to quality, service and innovation,
U. S. Steel is a leading manufacturer of value-added steel
products and primarily serves the automotive, appliance,
container, construction and energy markets in North
America and Central Europe. U. S. Steel has an annual raw
steelmaking capability of approximately 30 million net tons.
Today, U. S. Steel remains proud of its past, but is focused on
its future. As a leader in the increasingly competitive global
steel industry, United States Steel Corporation is dedicated
to delivering high-quality products to our customers and
building value for all of our stakeholders.
As a major supplier of steel products to the North American
automotive market, U. S. Steel Canada’s long standing
commitment to quality demonstrates a desire to meet the
ever-increasing demands of that industry. Our 1830 mm
(72-inch) Z-Line compliments our state-of-the-art steelmaking
and rolling facilities located at Hamilton Works and Lake Erie
Works in Nanticoke, Ontario.
Over the years, we have continued to invest in and upgrade
our facilities in order to ensure the supply of high quality, cold
rolled steel to the Z-Line facility. Some of the improvements
we have made over the years include:
Improved formability due to our RH-OB vacuum degassing
unit at Lake Erie Works.
Enhancements to the 80-inch Hot Strip Mill at Lake Erie
Works, such as a sixth finishing stand and hydraulic
automatic gauge control allowing for increased uniformity
of hot-band thickness.
Investments in the Cold Mill at the Hamilton Works Tandem
Mill included automatic work roll changes, a new entry end,
hydraulic capsules on all mill stands, positive and negative
work roll bending, automatic closed loop gauge and shape
control, and a new roll out automotive inspection station.
U. S. Steel Canada’s goal is to achieve superior product value
and deliver world-class customer service. We achieve these
goals while operating our facilities safely and efficiently.
Our objective is being met through continual improvements
to workmanship and the implementation of global best
practices at each stage of the manufacturing process.
Formal quality assurance programs have been established
and are monitored at every plant and at each phase of the
operation. All of our employees are trained and directed to
maximize quality awareness and process control.
U. S. Steel Canada’s world class supplier position is bolstered
by its own contributions to pre-development programs with
automotive customers. Additionally, as a wholly owned
subsidiary of United States Steel Corporation, we have
the benefit of access to best practices from around the
globe. Utilizing these collective marketing, metallurgical,
engineering and research resources – and our superior
steelmaking capabilities – U. S. Steel Canada has developed
several programs which continually improve quality, cost and
performance. These improvements are the result of
steel grade development, product design and manufacture/
process optimization.
QU A L I TY A ND TH E
A U T OMOT I V E M A R K ET
T H E FACILITY
Exhibit 1 : Major Characteristics of the Z-Line
Cost
$180 Million CDN
Volume
470,000 tons per year
Line Length
275 m (900’)
Line Height
55 m (180’)
Anticipated Products
Galvanized, Galvanneal, Automotive Exposed
Width
Minimum : 1015 mm (40”)
Maximum : 1830 mm (72”)
Thickness
Minimum : 0.58 mm (0.023”)
Maximum : 2.1 mm (0.083”)
Maximum Coil Weight
33,636 kg (74,000 lbs)
Inside Diameter
610 mm (24”)
Outside Diameter
1880 mm (74”)
The 18-storey 275 m (900 feet) Z-Line is located at
U. S. Steel Canada’s Hamilton Works and has an annual
capacity of 470,000 tons. The Z-Line produces hot-dipped
galvanized and galvannealed sheet steel with excellent
surface quality and superb corrosion resistance and
formability, particularly for the stamping and welding
processes critical to automotive manufacturing.
The Z-Line incorporates the most advanced coating
technology, with many state-of-the-art feature including
a High Current Density Cleaner with Votobox Magnetic
Separator, the world’s largest induction heated ceramic-lined
zinc pot with 454 tonne (500 ton) capacity, Zinc-Iron
Alloy Coating Weight gauge, Armco’s patented nitrogen
wiping/shrouding coating system, and Cognex surface
inspection system.
Exhibit 2 : Z-Line Features and Benefits
1
2
3
4
5
6
NO. 1 AND NO. 2 PAYOFF REELS
THICKNESS GAUGES
DOUBLE CUT SHEAR
PREP-LAP DC WELDER
ENTRY LOOPER SYSTEM
HIGH CURRENT DENSITY CLEANER
FEATURE: High density alkali cleaning to remove residual rolling oils and iron fines.
BENEFIT: Superior surface cleanliness for optimum coating adhesion, optimum galvanneal
appearance for auto-exposed applications and optimum paintability for auto exposed cold
rolled applications.
8
ZINC POT / NITROGEN WIPING
FEATURE: World’s largest induction heated/ceramic-lined pot with a 454-tonne (500-ton) capacity.
BENEFIT: Superior stability of both chemistry and temperature.
FEATURE: Ultra low lead both chemistry
BENEFIT: Optimum auto-exposed surface appearance.
FEATURE: Large diameter sink roll and twin stabilizer rolls.
BENEFIT: Excellent coating weight distribution across the sheet and on both sides of the
sheet - expectation of ±3 σ = ±10g/m2 total both sides.
FEATURE: Patented Armco nitrogen wiping and shrouding technology.
BENEFIT: Smooth bright finish with minimum dross and coating sag.
7
ANNEALING FURNACE
9
10
POT BY-PASS
GALVANNEAL FURNACE
FEATURE: Four independently monitored combustion zones using proven SELAS gas-fired high
efficiency tube burners.
BENEFIT: Precise and uniform temperature control.
FEATURE: State-of-the-art induction heating technology for precise temperature control, minimum
heating/cooling response time.
BENEFIT: Provides optimum coating composition and properties.
FEATURE: Furnace elongation control system.
BENEFIT: Ensures superior steel width control permitting a stable low-tension operation necessary for
processing extra deep drawing quality (EDDQ) fully stabilized grades.
FEATURE: Vertical design.
BENEFIT: Minimizes strip contact and provides more efficient heating of the strip.
FEATURE: Hot bridles.
BENEFIT: Minimizes shape distortion and surface marring.
FEATURE: World’s largest furnace rolls.
BENEFIT: Enhanced mechanical properties.
FEATURE: SELAS gas cooling technology.
BENEFIT: Cooling rates up to 70°C/sec. for bake hardenable and high-strength steel.
FEATURE: Electrically heated over-aging zones.
BENEFIT: Prevents deterioration in mechanical properties for non-stabilized plain carbon steels.
11
AFTER-POT COOLING TOWER
12
QUENCH TANK
13DRYER
14
ZINC-IRON ALLOY COATING WEIGHT GAUGE
FEATURE: On-line twin-head x-ray fluorescent gauge scanning across the width of the strip.
BENEFIT: Continuous readout of the top and bottom surface. Iron content and coating weight are
displayed both numerically and graphically through the coil length to confirm coating uniformity.
Computer data is maintained for on-going quality control.
15
TEMPER MILL
FEATURE: Unique 4-high CLECIM design with tension bridle rolls before and after.
BENEFIT: Precise control and uniform distribution of elongation (extensions up to 2%) to import
consistent surface finish and mechanical properties.
FEATURE: Work roll bending.
BENEFIT: Optimum shape control.
FEATURE: Variation in work roll diameter.
BENEFIT: Wide range of extensions for specific products such as CQ and EDDQ.
FEATURE: Wet rolling practice.
BENEFIT: No surface contamination or zinc pickup.
16
TENSION LEVELLER
FEATURE: CLECIM design with intermediate bridle rolls between temper mill and leveller.
BENEFIT: Superior flatness, precise control of elongation independent of the temper mill
(extensions up to 1.5%), in-line temper mill/tension leveller eliminate need for secondary
processing and the potential for damage and added processing delays.
17
18
PASSIVATION TANKS AND DRYER
DELIVERY LOOPER
19
INSPECTION STATION
FEATURE: Horizontal/vertical and top/bottom visual surface inspection, fluorescent and unilux
strobe lighting, and a COGNEX defect recognition system.
BENEFIT: Electronic data logging of surface quality capability to identify surface imperfections via
jet-ink marking on the coil. COGNEX inspection system provides enhanced defect recognition capability.
20
ELECTROSTATIC OILER
BENEFIT: ECT unit can produce consistent two-sided precisely controlled films of either a rust
preventative oil (Ferrocote 61AUS) or single phase prelube (Montgomery PL7105A).
21
22
FLYING SHEAR
MAGNETIC WRAP
BENEFIT: Provides tension to the outer wrap of the strip to ensure a tightly wound coil during recoiling
on the exit reel.
23PACKAGING
BENEFIT: All coils will be treated in a auto-exposed manner, handling will preclude damage
during warehousing and shipment; ability to meet most manufacturers’ specifications for full bar
coding capabilities.
Exhibit 3 : Coating Types, Product Types, and Product Dimensional Ranges
U. S. Steel Canada Hamilton currently produces Galvanneal and Galvanize Coatings to ASTM and the Automotive Standards
GALVANNEAL
ASTM - A653
AUTOMOTIVE
GALVANIZE
Inch-pound
Metric
Inch-pound
A25 - A60
ZF075 - ZF180
G30 - G115
Metric
Z120 - Z350
30A30A thru 60A60A
45G45G thru 115G115G
Auto Exposed panel capability
Differential coating capability
Product Types: Low Carbon, Ultra Low Carbon, Structural and High Strength Low Alloy Steel and Bake Hard steels are available, as well as development
in Dual Phase Steels
STEEL CLASSIFICATION
QUALITY
COMPOSITION
Extra Deep Drawing
EDDS
Ultra Low Carbon (stabilized-IFS)
Deep Drawing
DDS
Ultra Low Carbon (stabilized-IFS)
Drawing / Forming
FSTYPE B
Low Carbon/Manganese
Commercial
CSTYPE B
Low Carbon/Manganese
Structural 33
SSGRD33
Low Carbon/Manganese
Structural 37
SSGRD37
Low Carbon/Manganese/Micro Alloy
Structural 40
SSGRD40
Low Carbon/Manganese/Micro Alloy
HSLA GRD 50 / GRD 350
HSLA50
High Strength Low Alloy
HSLA GRD 60 / GRD 420
HSLA60
High Strength Low Alloy
210 Bake Hard
BH210
Bake Hardenable ULC (stabilized-IFS)
270 Bake Hard
BH270
Bake Hardenable
Dual Phase 590T
DP590
Dual Phase
Product dimensional ranges - see width to thickness charts
QUALITY
GAUGE inches
WIDTH inches
GAUGE mm
WIDTH mm
EDDS/DDS
.023 - .083
40 - 72
.58 - 2.1
1015 - 1828
FS/CS/SS
.023 - .083
40 - 72
.58 - 2.1
1015 - 1828
HSLA
.035 - .072
40- 65
.89 - 1.8
1015 - 1651
BH210
.028 - .080
40 - 62
.71 - 2.0
1015 - 1574
BH270
.030 - .060
40 - 60
.76 - 1.5
1015 - 1524
DP
.035 - .072
40 - 65
.89 - 1.8
1015 - 1651
AV AI LA B I LI T Y
Galvanized and Galvannealed products from the Z-Line are
available in thickness 0.58 mm minimum to 2.1 mm maximum
(0.023” to 0.083”) and can be ordered to nominal or minimum
thickness. Available widths are from 1015 mm to 1830 mm
(40” to 72”). Please inquire regarding widths under 1015 mm,
and 20” inside diameter.
As a result of the Hamilton Works Tandem Mill upgrade in
2000, incoming cold rolled substrate is produced to tight
automotive gauge specifications.
Galvanized and Galvannealed sheet steel products can
be classified as either ultra low carbon (fully stabilized
interstitial free), low carbon, and high strength low alloy.
Please inquire regarding bake hardenable and dual phase
steel. Within each of these classifications, several steel
specifications are available.
Exhibit 4 : Thickness/Width Availability by Grade
Z-Line Hot-Dipped Galvanized and Galvannealed Sheet
Hamilton Works
U. S. Steel Canada
386 Wilcox Street
Hamilton, Ontario
L8N 3T1
Lake Erie Works
U. S. Steel Canada
General Delivery
Nanticoke, Ontario
N0A 1L0