Introduction
Zinc Foil Sheet and Plate have been widely used for corrosion resistance, especially in offshore platforms, shipping, and submarines. MetalsTek offers Zinc Sheet Foil Ribbon and Plate in various sizes and purities (up to 99.9999%).
Zinc Foil Sheets and Plates are versatile materials widely used in various industries due to their excellent properties, such as corrosion resistance, good castability, and cost-effectiveness.
1. Properties of Zinc Foil Sheet and Plate
Zinc Foil Sheet and Plates are known for their shiny appearance and high formability. They are typically manufactured to meet specific alloy composition standards, ensuring consistent quality and performance. Key properties include:
- Corrosion Resistance: Zinc is highly resistant to corrosion, making it ideal for applications in harsh environments.
- Good Castability: Zinc Foil Sheet and Plate can be easily cast into various shapes and sizes, providing flexibility in manufacturing.
- Smooth Finish: High-quality zinc sheets feature a smooth finish and solid fill, free from defects like chill lines or trapped air pockets.
2. Applications of Zinc Foil Sheet and Plate
Zinc foil, sheet, and plate have various applications across different industries due to their unique properties. Here are some key applications:
- Corrosion Protection: Zinc foil and sheet are widely used as sacrificial anodes in galvanic corrosion protection systems. When applied to steel or other metals, zinc corrodes preferentially, protecting the underlying material from corrosion. This is particularly useful in marine environments and construction industries.
- Architectural Applications: Zinc sheets are popular in architecture for roofing, wall cladding, and decorative elements. They provide a distinctive appearance and develop a protective patina over time, enhancing durability and aesthetics.
- Battery Production: Zinc foil and sheet are used in the manufacturing of batteries, particularly in zinc-air and zinc-carbon batteries, where zinc serves as the anode material.
- Electronics: In the electronics industry, zinc foil is used for electromagnetic shielding and in the production of circuit boards.
- Chemical Industry: Zinc plates and sheets are used in chemical processing equipment due to their corrosion resistance properties.
- Automotive Industry: Zinc sheets are used in automotive body parts for corrosion protection and in the production of die-cast components.
- Construction: Zinc sheets and plates are used for flashing, gutters, roofs, and other building components that require weather resistance.
- Scientific Research: High-purity zinc foil and sheets are used in scientific laboratories for various experiments and studies.
- Energy Storage: Zinc plates are used in some types of fuel cells and energy storage systems.
- Packaging: Zinc foil is sometimes used in specialized packaging applications where its properties are beneficial.
- Artistic and Craft Projects: Zinc sheets are used by artists and craftspeople for sculpture, jewelry making, and other creative applications.
3. Main Uses of Zinc Metal
- Shipping
- Steel Pile
- Floating Dock
- Bridge
- Ballast Tank
- Submarine Pipeline
- Sluice, Underwater Wire Rope
- Offshore Platform
- Port Engineering
- Marine Engineering Facilities
- Underground Cables
- Oil Pipelines
- Gas Pipelines
- Oil Well Casing
- Tank Wall
- Bridge Foundation
- Reaction Kettle
- Concrete Foundation
- Heat Exchanger
- Complex Water Gas
- Box Type Cooler
- Water Pipe Inner Wall
- Pump
- Compressor
- Chemical Tower
- Container
- Storage Tank
4. Related Product
- Molybdenum Sheet & Foil
- Tungsten Sheet
- Rhenium Sheet
- Tantalum Sheet Foil Ribbon
- Niobium Sheet & Foil
- Titanium Sheet & Foil
- Zirconium Sheet & Foil
- Hafnium Sheet & Foil
- Vanadium Sheet Foil Plate
- Iridium Sheet Plate Foil
- Spring Steel Sheets
- Palladium Sheet & Foil
- Platinum Sheet Foil
- Aluminum Sheet Foil Plate
- Copper Sheet Foil Plate Bar
- Nickel Sheet Foil Plate
- Lead Sheet Foil Plate Bar
These applications leverage zinc’s key properties, such as corrosion resistance, malleability, and its ability to form protective patinas. The specific form (foil, sheet, or plate) is chosen based on the application’s thickness requirements.
5. Zinc Sheets and Zinc Coils: How Are They Used?
Metal architecture has come a long way since the days of using primarily iron and steel for facades, cladding, and roofing. Zinc Sheets And Zinc Coils is a long lasting metal that has a wider range of application methods in comparison to other metals. While being a durable metal, zinc is also sustainable and recyclable.
Zinc sheeting offers more advantages over alternative metals used for residential and commercial buildings. As a building material, zinc is often overlooked despite its ability to add both function and beauty to the architect’s design, while maintaining an affordable cost.
If you are sourcing architectural metals for a project, you might question yourself, “Why would you choose zinc?” Below, we describe some of the more common uses for zinc coils and sheets in construction and architectu.
1. Why Zinc?
The composition of architectural zinc used today is an alloy composed of zinc, copper, titanium. Zinc alloy has a plasticity that heavier metals, such as steel and iron, do not have. This plasticity makes the metal more versatile for roofing methods like cladding, and also has a capability to be created into structures and art of almost any shape.
Zinc’s Plasticity
Zinc is a pliable metal, which means we can create almost any shape or design. We have the ability to form zinc sheets into different curves and shapes to match existing structures in design. Its plasticity is why zinc is desirable in applications such as roofing, wall cladding, and decorative accents.
Sustainability
Zinc is a completely sustainable metal. Even though zinc is 100% recyclable, zinc architecture is less likely to need demolition due to it being a long-lasting and attractive metal. Zinc alloys are also environmentally friendly; rain runoff from zinc roofing and cladding does not cause contamination of soil and groundwater, nor does not negatively affect public health.
2. Roofing
Zinc sheet roofs and facades are popular in both residential and commercial construction. The plasticity of zinc alloy allows fabricators to shape it to fit any roof style as well as create additional decorative touches such as, custom eaves or pinnacles. Zinc does not rust or corrode easily, so there is no need to wash or even paint the zinc panels. Over time zinc forms a natural and protective patina that has self repairing abilities. The patina removes scratches and imperfections as it ages, allowing a roof to last hundreds of years.
3. Rainwater Drainage
An everyday use of zinc sheet and coil are rainwater drainage systems.. Zinc is preferable to aluminum in many cases because it is more robust and lasts far longer in architectural applications. If matching current decor is a worry, zinc can be painted, but it is not necessary. On average, zinc gutters and downspouts require little maintenance, and have a lifespan of 30-50 years.
4. Wall Cladding
Wall cladding is a type of siding used to insulate and protect residential and commercial buildings. Zinc cladding has low maintenance costs, a long life, and an attractive look. Our clients prefer zinc because it resists weathering and it has a natural patina that heals itself from scratches and blemishes. Another benefit of the natural patina that forms on zinc is its’ ability to resist corrosion, unlike steel which eventually rusts.
5. Decorative Accents
With our zinc coils we can create art pieces and sheets through a process we call, PixArt. With PixArt, we create 2D images on the outside of zinc panels. The images are made from a generated pattern of small perforations in the metal that result in a full pixelated image. Our PixArt images can be applied in either interior or exterior locations.
Interior
The possibilities of zinc sheeting for interior decor are endless. We can create custom zinc countertops, zinc wall paneling, and even zinc furniture. Another feature of zinc is that it contains antimicrobial agents that kill microorganisms, making it a great choice for kitchen and bathroom projects.
Exterior
We can add PixArt to exterior wall panels to create custom works of art on buildings and courtyards. Because zinc is so pliable, we can mold it into different shapes for unique architectural designs, custom downspouts, and gothic-style accents.
6. We Offer Custom Zinc Sheets and Zinc Coils
If you’re searching for a supplier for zinc sheet and coil that will not require months of lead time, look for MetalTech Global. We offer a wide variety of ready to ship zinc within our facility; we also offer in-house reprocessing. Ordering directly from a facility with current products in-stock can reduce the overall timeline of your project, save you money, and leave your clients happy.
We know that sourcing supplies can be complicated with the current supply chain crisis and labor shortages. Therefore, we strive to become the largest stocking center of architectural zinc in North America. In stock products help us to stay ahead of supply chain problems and keep our clients happy with consistently high-quality metals ready for their building needs. Because we also offer in-house reprocessing, your project will not be delayed by months of waiting on product arrival along with sourcing someone who can reprocess the zinc coils and sheets.
We have many architectural metal products for commercial and residential applications. We also have the most extensive stock of architectural zinc in North America that is ready for shipping or reprocessing. If you need a supplier for zinc sheets and coils, or other metal products for architectural applications, contact us today at MetalTech Global.
6. Continuous Sheet Galvanizing
Continuous sheet galvanizing is also a hot-dip process, but is only applied to steel sheets, strips, and wire. In a coil-to-coil process, steel sheets from 0.010 to 1.70 inches (0.25 mm to 4.30 mm) thick and up to 72 inches (1,830 mm) wide are passed as a continuous ribbon through cleaning baths and molten zinc at speeds up to 600 feet per minute.
Preparing the steel for the continuous galvanized coating begins with cleaning in an alkaline liquid combined with brushing, rinsing, and drying. Then the steel passes into the heating or annealing furnace to soften it and impart the desired strength and formability. In this annealing furnace, the steel is maintained under a reducing gas atmosphere, composed of hydrogen and nitrogen, to remove any oxide that may be on the surface. Just as in the batch hot-dip process, the steel must be completely clean of oxides and contaminants for a successful coating.
As the steel exits the furnace, it enters into a vacuum chamber, or snout, before entering the molten zinc bath to prevent any air from re-oxidizing the heated steel product. The steel is then sent around a submerged roll in the molten bath to create the bonded coating and removed in a vertical direction. As the product is withdrawn from the bath, precisely regulated, high-pressure air (air knife) is used to remove any excess zinc to create a closely controlled coating thickness.
The steel is then allowed to cool and solidify before contacting another roll to avoid transferring or damaging the coating.
Today, this continuous process is used to make seven different types of sheet products including:
- galvanized (zinc)
- galvannealed (90-92% zinc/8-10% iron alloy)
- two alloys of zinc and aluminum (55% aluminum/45% zinc alloy and 95% zinc/5% aluminum alloy)
- two aluminum-based alloys (100% aluminum, 89-95% aluminum/5-11% silicon alloy)
- terne coating (85-97% lead/3-15% tin alloy)
As the name states, this process is only applied to sheet steels. The most common applications are in car bodies, appliances, corrugated roofing and siding, duct work, and culvert pipe. The smooth coating does allow it to be treated for painting, which will increase service life. Because of the relatively thin coating, unpainted continuous sheet galvanizing is recommended for interior applications or where exposure to corrosive elements is mild.
ASTM A653 / A653M Standard Specification for Steel Sheet, Zinc-Coated (Galvanized) or Zinc-Iron Alloy-Coated (Galvannealed) by the Hot-Dip Process governs the coating of steel via the continuous process.
Coating Characteristics
Because both are hot-dip processes, continuous sheet and batch hot-dip galvanizing are often confused. It is important to understand the hot-dip galvanizing process is NOT the same as in-line or continuous sheet galvanizing. One major difference in the two coatings is the thickness. The continuous sheet galvanizing process has greater control and preciseness when it comes to zinc thickness as the air knife used after galvanizing ensures a uniform thickness across the steel sheet.
The coating is mostly unalloyed zinc, though minimal alloy layers are present, and is ductile and able to withstand deep drawing or bending without damage. This is important as the coating is applied prior to final fabrication such as punching, bending, and cutting.
Because of the precise control of coating thickness, continuous sheet is stocked in a variety of coating weights. One of the most common zinc coatings is Class G90, which has 0.9 oz/ft2 of zinc (total both sides) or about 0.80 mils (20 ?m) per side.
Service life for all zinc coatings is linear to zinc thickness; however, because the continuous sheet coating is applied pre-fabrication, final forming and placement often includes punching holes, bending, cutting, etc. which creates uncoated areas. Like batch hot-dip galvanizing, the surrounding zinc will provide cathodic protection to these uncoated areas, but as there is much less zinc present, the best practice is to touch-up any exposed areas after fabrication to extend service life.
7. Mechanical Plating
Mechanical zinc plating is accomplished by tumbling small parts in a drum with zinc and proprietary chemicals. Small iron and steel parts usually limited in size to about 8-9 inches (200-300 mm) and weighing less than one pound (0.5 kg) are cleaned and flash coppercoated before loading into a plating barrel. The barrel is then loaded with proprietary chemicals, glass beads and zinc powder and tumbled. During tumbling, the glass beads peen zinc powder onto the part. Once finished, the parts are dried and packaged, or post-treated with a passivation film, dried, and packaged.
As mentioned, mechanical plating can only be appliedto small parts limited to the capacity of the drum. Furthermore, the materials must be simple in design to ensure peening to all surfaces. Mechanical zinc plating is most commonly used on high-strength fasteners and other small parts not suitable for hot-dip galvanizing.
Coating Characteristics
Mechanical plating consists of a flash coating of copper followed by the zinc coating. Coating thickness requirements contained in ASTM Specification B695 range from 0.2-4.3 mils (5 to 110 µm). While thicker coatings are possible, the common thickness on commercial fasteners is 2 mils (50 µm). The coating density is approximately 0.45 oz/ft2/mil compared to the hot-dip galvanized coating density of about 0.6 oz/ft2/mil. The hot-dip coating has over 30% more zinc per unit volume than the mechanical coating.
The coating, upon micro cross-section, appears to consist of flattened particles of zinc loosely bonded together. The bond between zinc and steel, and zinc-to-zinc, being mechanical in this process, is weaker than the metallurgical bond found in hot-dip galvanizing. Edge, corner and thread coating thicknesses are usually lower at these sharp radii areas due to minimal peening action at these locations.
Because of the application process (tumbling and peening), the coating thickness can vary throughout the part.
Complex designs with recesses or blind holes as well as edges, corners and threads can have inconsistent or non-existent coatings due to inaccessibility to the peening action of the glass beads. It is also importantthe compaction agents (beads) are large enough to avoid being lodged in any cavities, recesses, or small threads inthe part. The coating is mechanically-bonded to the steel with a similar adhesion to zinc plating.
Question
1. What is zinc metal used for?
Zinc uses range from metal products to rubber and medicines. About three-fourths of zinc used is consumed as metal, mainly as a coating to protect iron and steel from corrosion (galvanized metal), as alloying metal to make bronze and brass, as zinc-based die casting alloy, and as rolled zinc.
2. What is the purpose of zinc?
Zinc, a nutrient found throughout your body, helps your immune system and metabolism function. Zinc is also important to wound healing and your sense of taste and smell. With a varied diet, your body usually gets enough zinc.
3. What is the introduction of zinc?
Zinc is an essential trace element for humans, animals, plants and for microorganisms and is necessary for prenatal and postnatal development. It is the second most abundant trace metal in humans after iron and it is the only metal which appears in all enzyme classes.
4. What is zinc sheet metal?
Zinc Sheets And Zinc Coils is a long lasting metal that has a wider range of application methods in comparison to other metals. While being a durable metal, zinc is also sustainable and recyclable. Zinc sheeting offers more advantages over alternative metals used for residential and commercial buildings.
5. What is zinc aluminum sheet?
Coating sheet metal with aluminium-zinc is a very effective way of preventing corrosion. Aluzink® coated sheets are made in the same way as hot-dip galvanised sheet metal, but use a mixture of approximately 55 % aluminium and 43 % zinc, rather than just zinc, to coat the surface.
6. Which is cheaper aluminium or zinc?
Of the three, zinc is the most expensive, both in terms of material and installation costs. This can mean that on projects where budgets are restricted zinc can prove cost prohibitive. Aluminium is less expensive, but steel is by far the most cost-effective option due to the price of the material.
7. What is zinc wrap used for?
JOBST zinc bandages are used for the treatment of various venous and orthopedic conditions. They are indicated for the management of venous leg ulcers, venous edema, or thrombotic conditions (such as thrombophlebitis and phlebothrombosis).
8. Is zinc better than aluminium?
For instance, if you need a metal that is light and corrosion resistant, an Aluminium alloy would be the better choice. However, if you need a metal that is strong and durable, a Zinc alloy would be the better option