BILSTEIN ZE grades (recovery annealed HSLA grades)

BILSTEIN’s ZE grades are characterised by minimum yield strengths from 500 to 1,200 MPa and excellent cold formability. These special grades are used where the demand for component strength is at the highest level and may be accompanied by a weight and cost advantage.

Developed by BILSTEIN, the materials combine reliable cold-rolling and heat-treatment strategies, enabling customers to choose minimum yield strengths of anything from 500 to 1,200 MPa.

The steels are based on pearlite-reduced, microalloyed hot-rolled steel strips, and can be welded using all standard techniques. The low carbon equivalent (CE) is important to note, while spot and laser welding have proven to be particularly suitable, with no observable decline in yield strength in the heat-affected zones. Moreover a high yield-to-tensile strength ratio offers excellent preconditions for the roll forming process.

BILSTEIN ZE grades offer all the benefits associated with cold rolled steel, such as:

  • Homogeneous mechanical properties
  • Excellent surface quality
  • Superior shape and flatness

Application area

  • seat rails
  • safety belt housings
  • Clutch disks
Thickness* 0.5 mm (0.0197 inch) – 5.0 mm (0.197 inch)
Width* Mill edge: up to 1.350 mm (53.15 inch)

Cut edge: 15 mm (0.59 inch) up to 1.320 mm (51.97 inch)

Delivery format coil
Coil weight max. 23 kg/mm of width → max. 2 lbs/inch of width

*Grade and cross section depending