Understanding the Different End-Uses of Steel

Understanding the Different End-Uses of Steel

Steel is often referred to as a commodity product. Although recognized as a material with a wide range of uses, the breadth of different end-uses is often not well understood. In the article that follows, the author discusses some typical end-uses of steel that illustrate the breath of different applications for which this material is commonly used.

Flat products

Within flat steel products, a number of different product groups can be identified. These include:

• Plate, commonly used in shipbuilding, for the production of large diameter pipe (e.g for oil and gas transport) and for military applications such as armoured plate (tanks, personnel carriers).



• Hot rolled coil and sheet, where important uses can include low pressure tanks, heavy ducts and channels, gas and water pipes, roll-formed sections for use in construction, machine parts, and some auto chassis components.



• Cold rolled coil and sheet, where typical uses include roofing products, enamel coated kitchen utensils, packaging (including strapping), non-exposed elements of white goods such as fridges and freezers, brackets for construction and machinery.



• Coated steel products - meaning mainly zinc coated and tin coated steels - where key uses include motorway crash barriers, air conditioning ventilation shafts, lockers, cabinets, metal boxes, non-exposed car body parts, railway wagons, drums, vessels, roofing products, PVC window assemblies - and at the highest end of the quality spectrum for exposed auto body panels, white goods panels, sandwich panels for construction applications; and tinplate for packaging uses (food and beverage).

Long products

Within long products, several different product groups can be identified. These include:

• Heavy sections, typically used to make bridges, or as construction elements (beams) as load support structures in buildings. Railway rails are also an important end use of heavy steel sections.



• Light sections, which can include merchant bar products [meaning round, square, hexagonal, rectangular, flat and other shapes used as support structures for building, construction and machinery], reinforcing bar (which is used to reinforce concrete - both horizontally and vertically) as well as engineering steel products (used for the production of crank shafts, gearbox gears, suspension arms, automotive springs and hydraulic components).



• Wire products, used for tyre cord, mechanical springs (including bedding), steel rope, as well as for fasteners (nuts, bolts, screws) as well as wire mesh, nails and fencing products.

Within tube, further products can be distinguished. These include:

• Seamless tube, where the thinnest applications include syringe needles and precision tube; and larger diameters find uses in oil and gas exploration as well as in high temperature and pressure applications including uses in highly corrosive environments.



• Welded tube, which includes small, medium and large pipe, with uses ranging from furniture, gas and water piping, as well as construction elements. The very largest diameter pipes are used for cross-country, sub-sea as well as intercontinental transport of oil and gas.

Whilst often called a commodity product, it is clear that the uses of steel are very varied indeed. Many of the applications of steel are also highly specialised - especially in the case of:

• high-speed steels, used for metal cutting.


• tool steels, used for the manufacture of tools (including stamping dies, shear blades, and hand tools such as wrenches and machine tool-bit holders).


• steel forgings (with very broad industrial applications including components and machinery).

With certain sub-groups of steel (such as stainless steels) themselves having further quite unique sets of applications (jewellery, surgical instruments, kitchen surfaces and tools).

Inflation and the Equation of Exchange

Inflation and the Equation of Exchange

Let's start with a big question: What reasons are there for inflation to occur? One way of answering this question is to take the monetarist approach and focus on the so called Equation of Exchange. It will help us to easily identify the culprit.

First we take a look at the quantities necessary to understand this equation step by step and using an example. One quantity is the money supply M. It's simply the total amount of money present in the economy. For introductory purposes, I'll set this value to M = 100 billion $.

Also important is the velocity of money V. It tells us, how often each dollar (bill) is used over the course of a year. This quantity depends on the saving habits of the people in the economy. If they are keen on saving, the bills will only pass through a few hands each year, so V is small. On the other hand, if people love to spend the money they have, any bill will see a lot of different owners, so V is large. For the introductory example, we'll set V = 5.

Note that the product of these two quantities is the total spending in the economy. If there are M = 100 billion $ in the economy and each dollar is spend V = 5 times per year, the total annual spending must be M · V = 500 billion $. This conclusion is vital for understanding the Equation of Exchange.

There are two more quantities we need to look at, one of which is the price level P. It tells us the average price of a good in the economy. If there's inflation, this is the quantity that will increase. Let's assume that in our fictitious economy, the average price of a good is P = $ 25.

Last but not least, there's the number of transactions T, which is just the total number of goods sold over the entire year. We'll fix this to T = 200 billion for now and make another very important conclusion.

The product of these last two quantities is the total sales revenue in the economy. If the average price of a good is P = 25 $ and there are T = 200 billion goods sold in a year, the total sales revenue must be P · T = 500 billion $. It is no accident that the total sales revenue equals the total spending. Rather, this equality is the (reasonable) foundation of the Equation of Exchange.

For the total spending to equal the total sales revenue, this equation must hold true:

M · V = P · T

which is just the Equation of Exchange. Now think about what will happen if we increase the money supply M in the economy, for example by printing money or government spending. We'll assume that the spending habits of the people remain unchanged (constant V). Since we increased the left side of the equation, the total spending, the right side of the equation, the total sales revenue, must increase as well.

One way this can happen is via an increase in price level P (inflation). Indeed empirical evidence shows that in the US every increase in money supply was followed by a rise in inflation later on.

Luckily there's another quantity on the right side which can absorb some of the growth in money supply. A rise in the number of transactions T (increased economic activity) following the "money shower" will dampen the resulting inflational drive. On the other hand, a combination of more money and less economic activity can lead to a dangerous, Weimar-style hyperinflation.

At some point of your life, you probably thought to yourself: If governments can print money, why the hell do not they just make everyone a millionaire? The answer to this question is now obvious: The Equation of Exchange, that's why. If the government just started printing money like crazy, the rise in price level would just eat the newly found wealth up. Each dollar bill would gain three zeros, but you could not buy more with it than before.

Of course there can be much more trivial causes for injury than a growing money supply. Prices are determined by an equilibrium of supply and demand. If demand drops, the retailers have to lower their prices to sell off their stocks. Similarly, if demand suddenly increases, the retailer will be able to set higher prices, resulting in inflation. This happens for example when a new technology comes along that quickly increases in popularity. Appropriately, this kind of price level growth is called a demand-pull inflation.

How to Start a Driving School

How to Start a Driving School

How to start a driving school. You will start by going onto the DMV website and downloading the application for the owner, operator and instructor. Next you will want to print off the driving school program handbook, do not confuse the 'program' handbook with the public handbook they give out at the DMV. The 'program' handbook is specifically for driving schools, it covers all the rules and regulations as well as the qualifications needed for the owner operator and instructor.

If you do not want or can not print the application or program handbook, you can always go into a field office of the DMV and ask the inspector for a copy and an application packet, make sure you call the DMV to see where the closest field office is to you, not all DMV's are field offices. After you go through your application you will want to make sure you have the necessary qualifications before you go any further.

Opening up a school can be a long and tedious proposition, there are many things you must do before you can open your doors. For example; you must secure a bond, pay the required fees, submit an insurance certificate, rent an office space in which to run your business out of and hold your driver education classes. You will need to have the fire department come out to inspect your space and they will give you a certificate of how many people it can hold. If you are going to hire any additional office help or driving instructors, you must provide worker's comp insurance. You will also need to get a certificate of inspection for each driver training vehicle if you are planning on offering driver training.

The driving school consists of an owner or owners, an operator who oversees the operation of the school and the driving instructor, who will teach driver education and or driver training. The owner does not have to take a DMV test, but the operator and instructor do.

Now the big glitch! Most People interested in opening up a driving school do not realize that to be the operator of the school, you need to have worked for an established licensed California driving school as a driving instructor for a period of not less than 2,000 hours of actual behind -the-wheel teaching. If you have this requirement then great, if you do not you will need to either hire an instructor who has their 2,000 hours or hire an operator. During the time you have someone else as your operator you can be accumulating the hours you need so you can take over that position and save yourself some money.

These are just some of the requirements that I have listed above, read through the program handbook before you spend any money! Make sure this business is the right fit for you.

5 Legitimate Ways to Make Money Online

5 Legitimate Ways to Make Money Online

Working from home and making money online has been described as the next great American gold rush. As millions of people find themselves out of a job or underemployed, more and more of them are turning to the internet to supplement their income. If you're looking for ways to make a few bucks from the comfort of your own home then you've probably already seen a web site advertising fast cash with just a few clicks of your mouse.

I suggest you be wary of sites that make outlandish claims and promise riches with little or no work. Be especially careful around sites that require you to pay a fee before they reveal their secret money-making methods to you. It does not necessarily mean you're about to be ripped off but it should sound the alarm of a potential scam.

If you're looking for legitimate ways to make money from home on the internet here are 5 suggestions you can get started with right away:

1. Become a virtual assistant. As a virtual assistant you may be required to write up documents, prepare mailings and invoices, follow up with clients by email or phone, make travel arrangements, and more. There are lots of busy professionals and business owners who could use a VA to assist with daily tasks and they are willing to pay for your skills.

2. Open an eBay store. Most eBay sellers start out by auctioning off old stuff from around their house that they no longer want. But if you find a profitable niche you can go one step further. Find a supplier where you can buy goods cheap and sell them on the internet for a profit.

3. If you speak a second language you can make extra money translating documents. You can translate digital documents, hard copies, or a combination of the two.

4. Transcription services are always in demand. This is where you would receive an audio file or a cd containing a speech, seminar, or interview. Your job would be to listen to the audio and type it up into a readable format. You'll need to have a good ear and fast typing fingers to excel at this one.

5. Become a ghostwriter. There are lots of businesses and individuals that need content created for their web sites, blogs, newsletters, pamphlets, etc. If you have decent writing skills and can work on a deadline you can offer your writing services to them. Quality writers can make a nice living online.

Effective Article Distribution

Effective Article Distribution

Using effective article distribution can extend the reach of your message and increase your audience. Once you've uploaded your article to an article submission site or service, do not stop there. Here are some ideas on how to get noticed in more places.

BUILD A PRESENTATION

Take the material in your article and turn it into a presentation in PowerPoint or Keynote (Mac). Use your sub headings as titles on each slide. Turn your paragraphs into bullet points or numbered lists. Add some relevant images and graphics, and voila! You now have a different version of your content.

POST TO CONTENT SITES

Your audience looks for information in different places. Some people do not always just type something in the Google search field. They revisit certain sites because they value the content that they find there.

After have created a presentation, try posting it on sites like SlideShare or Squidoo. You will have to create an account, in order to upload your material, and if you keep posting useful content, you will start to get ranked and noticed by users of those online communities.

CREATE A VIDEO

Another option for your article is to use it as part of your video marketing strategy. You do not have to create anything new. Just take your slide presentation and turn it into a video. Both Mac and PC presentation software have voice-over capabilities. You essentially, just run through the presentation as if you were talking to a room full of people and click through each slide.

At the end, you share or export the presentation file, so that it turns into a video format that can then be played back as a mini-movie.

SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO

Now that you have a video, you need to submit it also. You can use sites like TubeMogul or Traffic Geyser to send your video to several different sites that like to take videos.

These sites will send your file to YouTube, plus Vimeo, Veoh, and many more video distribution services.

SOCIALIZE YOUR LINKS

Now that you've got your article link, a presentation link, and video links, it's time to share them on your social networks. Spread out your news over several days and at different times of days. And, always use different language in your posts, so you do not look like your spamming.

By multipurposing your article in different formats, and on a variety of sites, you will reach a much wider audience. Ideally your search rankings go up along the way, and more business comes flowing through your door, or, website.

Nissan's Penchant for CVT

Nissan's Penchant for CVT

In the ever competitive world of the auto industry, car manufactures are always looking for ways to improve the performance of their vehicles. The recent trend is to produce fuel efficient vehicles as the public demand for these vehicles increases.

Forced by increasing prices of gasoline and increasing awareness of the global warming thereat, consumers have turned away from larger vehicles such as pickups and sport utility vehicles. In order to meet the demand of consumers, car manufacturers have been developing technologies to make their vehicle more fuel efficient. In Europe, the trend is to develop cleaner diesel engines since diesel fuel is cheaper than gasoline. In the United States, hybrid electric cars are more popular with Toyota and Honda hybrids leading the way. For Nissan though, they choose to exploit the use of continuously variable transmissions (CVT) which has proved to have the capability to reduce fuel consumption.

The continuously variable transmission or CVT is originally conceptualized by the artist Leonardo da Vinci in the 1940's. Although the CVT was conceptualized as early as that, it was not until 1886 that the first patent for the CVT was filed. After years of development, the continuous variable transmission eventually became popular in the auto industry, thanks to the efforts of Nissan in developing their own CVT.

The first Nissan auto model to be equipped with a CVT is the Nissan March introduced in 1992. The said model was sourced from fellow Japanese car brand Subaru. After some years, Nissan completed the CVT with a torque converter to increase its efficiency. One of the advantages of the CVT over conventional manual and automatic transmissions is that it maximizes the torque produced by the engine.

It is known that CVTs provide an infinite number of gear ratios within a finite range. This means that the engine's output can be harnessed efficiently with limited waste of power. This, on the other hand, translates to less fuel consumed by the engine to drive a vehicle.

Currently, there are already eleven Nissan models offered with the continuously variable transmission. These auto models are marketed throughout the world. One of the Nissan models equipped with the CVT is the Nissan Altima which is a mid-size sedan and this has replaced the Stanza in Nissan's lineup in 1993. The Altima is initially marketed as a compact car until 2001 but in 2002, it was upgraded to become a mid-size car.

Another Nissan auto model to be equipped with the CVT is the Nissan Cube. The Nissan Cube is a mini multi-purpose vehicle that is sold only in the Japanese market. This fuel efficient boxy car was first introduced in 1998 and bears a resemblance to the Chevy Aveo, Honda Fit, and the Scion xB.

The best selling Nissan Maxima is also equipped with a CVT. The Maxima is a mid-size executive car which competes with modes such as the Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Hyundai Sonata, Chevrolet Impala and the Ford Five Hundred. Its CVT is reported to perform better than vehicles equipped with a manual transmission using Centerforce clutch components.

The Nissan Micra, the supermini car produced by the Japanese car company, is another car model fitted with a CVT. The Micra is known as the Nissan March in the Japanese market. The first March / Micra were first introduced in 1982. The current March / Micra models represent the third generation of the car.

The near-luxury midsize crossover sport utility vehicle Nissan Murano is also offered with a CVT. It was initially slotted at the top of Nissan's lineup in the United States auto market before the arrival of the Armada. The said crossover SUV equipped with a CVT is first introduced in 2003 and is frequently labeled as the "Maxima of SUVs".

Another Nissan auto model to be equipped with a CVT is the Nissan Primera which is marketed as a compact family sedan in the European auto market. The Primera will be discontinued this year though.

Another Nissan model to be equipped with a CVT is the QASHQAI known in the US auto market as the Nissan Rouge, Nissan Dualis in Japan and Nissan CCUV in China. Other Nissan car models offered with the CVT are the Nissan Sentra, Serena, Skyline, and Versa / Tiida.

This wide range of Nissan vehicle provided with CVTs are part of the company's Green Program, the goal of which is to promote the use of CVTs to reduce fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

Money Saving Tips Everyone Should Learn

Money Saving Tips Everyone Should Learn

Today, it is not enough for a person to just earn an income but he also needs to learn how to save money. Without the knowledge on how to save money, for sure, he will not have anything left for the rainy days in his life. No matter how low or how high his income is, anyone should learn how to save money. Thank goodness, because of the advent of the internet, it is very much easier and more convenient for someone to learn some money saving tips right in the comforts of his own home. With these tips on how to save money, for sure, he and his family will not have any problem in living through life.

So, what are the basic money saving tips that everyone should need to learn? One of the most practical ways to save money is to stash away, at least, ten to twenty percent of his total earnings. For instance, if he is earning $ 1,000 every month, he should deposit ten percent of that, which is $ 100, on his bank account and totally forget all about it. In other words, the best ways to save money is to open up a bank account.

There are other people who just do not transact with banks if they want to save money. Some people will open up investment on IRA or the Individual Retirement Account. This is for people who have been employed and wants to have additional money when they retire so they can continue in enjoying their lives to the fullest. Others would also opt to buy life insurance so that on the end of his paying period, he can received the insured money from a life insurance company and can then enjoy his life even before he retires. If something happens to him, his family will have a secured and better financial future.

There are still many other money saving tips that anyone can learn. These tips can be found anywhere even on the internet and fortunately, there are now lots of different websites that feature these tips on how to save money for the rainy days. It is also good that if a person has some kind of talent, he can try to turn that talent into his own money-making machine. That way, he can save the money that he earned from his money-making talents while he can spend his salary from his day job to buy the things that his family needs and wants.