Main Grades of Cold-Rolled Steel Plate

When manufacturing galvanized steel, galvanized aluminum-zinc steel, galvanized aluminum-magnesium-zinc steel, and color-coated steel sheets, the term “cold-rolled steel plate” is frequently mentioned. It refers to steel plates or steel strips produced through the cold-rolling process. Cold-rolled steel plates are produced by rolling hot-rolled steel plates, but they have superior surface quality, dimensional accuracy, and mechanical properties compared to hot-rolled steel plates, making them a high-quality low-carbon steel base material.

Cold Rolled Steel

Cold Rolled Steel Coils

Core Characteristics

Excellent Surface Quality: Cold-rolled coil have a smooth, uniform surface with no obvious surface defects, which facilitates the adhesion of coatings or plating.
High dimensional accuracy: Cold-rolled steel plate thickness tolerance is ≤±0.05mm, and substrate flatness is ≤5mm/m.
Controllable mechanical properties: After cold rolling, yield strength, tensile strength, and elongation are optimized.
Suitable for cold forming processes: Suitable for stamping, stretching, bending, and other cold forming processes, with excellent deep drawing performance.

Production Process

Raw material preparation: Using hot-rolled coil as raw material, the oxide scale on the surface of the hot-rolled sheet is removed through acid washing (e.g., sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid).
Cold rolling: Through 5–7 passes of cold rolling, the thickness is gradually reduced to the required level.
Annealing: Restores the substrate’s plasticity and optimizes mechanical properties.
Finishing: Flattening, shearing/slitting.
Surface Treatment: Oil coating, passivation, galvanizing, painting, etc.

International Standards

Chinese standards (GB/T)

Grade Meaning and Use Performance Characteristics (Examples)
SPCC Cold-rolled carbon steel for general stamping and bending purposes. Average formability. Tensile strength: 270-410 MPa.
SPCD Cold-rolled carbon steel for stamping. Better formability than SPCC.
SPCE Cold-rolled carbon steel for deep drawing. Excellent formability.
SPCF Cold-rolled carbon steel for extra deep drawing. Better anti-aging and deep drawing performance than SPCE.

European Standard (EN)

Grade Meaning and Use Performance Characteristics and Correspondence
DC01 General-purpose, equivalent to SPCC. Basic level, lowest cost.
DC03 For stamping, equivalent to SPCD. Better formability than DC01.
DC04 For deep drawing, equivalent to SPCE. Good deep drawing performance.
DC05 For extra deep drawing, equivalent to SPCF. Excellent deep drawing performance.
DC06 For ultra-deep drawing. Higher performance than DC05.
S235JR, S355MC, etc. High-strength steel grades. High strength. Used for safety and structural components.

American/ASTM Standard

AISI Grade Carbon Content (Approx.) Use and Performance
1006 0.06% Very soft, excellent formability, used for deep drawing.
1008 0.08% Soft, good formability, very commonly used.
1010 0.10% Balanced strength and formability.
1012 0.12% Slightly higher strength, slightly worse formability.
1015+ >0.15% Higher strength, used for structural components.

Japan/JIS Standard

Grade Meaning and Use Corresponding Relationship
SPCC Exactly the same as the national standard SPCC. General-purpose use
SPCD Exactly the same as the national standard SPCD. For stamping
SPCE Exactly the same as the national standard SPCE. For deep drawing
SPFC440, SPFC590 High-strength steel grades Equivalent to the European S-series, such as S35

Derivatives of Cold-rolled Steel Substrates

There are many derivatives of cold-rolled steel substrates as base materials, among which the most popular include galvanized steel, galvalume steel, ZAM steel, and color-coated steel, among others.

GI – Galvanized Steel

Coated with a pure zinc layer, it combines the mechanical properties of cold-rolled steel with the ductility, sacrificial anode protection, and edge protection of zinc.

  • Main products: painted galvanized steel, galvanized structural components, pipe systems, automotive panels, roof and wall panels, etc.

AZ – Aluzinc Steel

A 55% aluminum-zinc alloy coating combined with cold-rolled steel, leveraging the advantages of aluminum and zinc elements, offering excellent wear resistance, corrosion resistance, and heat resistance (up to 315°C).

  • Main products: color-coated aluzinc steel, aluzinc building roofs/walls, ovens, water heater liners, grain silos.

ZAM – Zn-Al-Mg Steel

Next-generation coating (Zn-Al-Mg), with corrosion resistance 10-20 times that of cold-rolled galvanized steel. Its standout advantage is strong self-healing capability at cut edges and excellent wear resistance.

  • Main products: livestock farms, cold chain logistics, solar panel mounts, structural components in highly corrosive environments.

PPGI/PPGL – Pre-Painted Steel

Organic coatings (such as PE, SMP, PVDF, PU, HDP) are applied to galvanized/aluminum-zinc-coated substrates, combining the corrosion resistance of metal-coated steel with the decorative properties of coatings.

  • Main products: building exterior wall panels, roof panels, appliance panels (such as refrigerators, washing machines), and interior decorative panels.

Wanzhi Group can provide all standard cold-rolled substrates and their derivatives, as well as professional technical selection support and customized solutions. For further information, please contact our sales engineers.

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