Sheet Galvanizing refers to the industrial process of applying a protective zinc coating to wide, flat sheets or coils of steel before the steel is cut or formed into final products. This is fundamentally different from coating finished tubes and pipes.
Distinction and Relevance
Sheet galvanizing typically occurs in a specialized Continuous Galvanizing Line (CGL) at the steel mill. The wide steel strip runs continuously through the molten zinc bath. The resulting product is known as Galvanized Sheet Steel or G.I. Sheet.
While this process doesn't directly coat the finished tube, it is the essential first step for manufacturers who produce pre-galvanized tubing. In this method:
This approach provides a highly uniform coating and is crucial for high-volume, thin-walled tubing and components like Electrical Metallic Tubing (EMT), where the superior surface finish and manufacturing speed are prioritized over the thicker coating provided by hot-dip galvanizing applied to finished products.