Free-cutting steel includes a specific composition, with an A value defined by a following formula (1) satisfying 4.0 or more and 20.0 or less, and remainder having Fe and an unavoidable impurity; and texture with 1000 or more sulfide particles with an equivalent circle diameter of less than 1 μm per mm.sup.2, 500 or more sulfide particles with an equivalent circle diameter of 1 μm or more and 5 μm or less per mm.sup.2, and 1000 or more Pb particles with an equivalent circle diameter of 1 μm or less per mm.sup.2, wherein

A value=(Mn+5Cr)/S   (1)

here, symbols of elements in the formula indicate contents (% by mass) of the elements.

Provided is a hot rolled steel sheet having a predetermined chemical composition and a microstructure comprising, by area ratio, pearlite: 90 to 100% and pro-eutectoid ferrite: 0 to 10%, wherein the pearlite has an average lamellar spacing of 0.08 to 0.30 μm, and the percentage of cementite in the pearlite having a major axis length of more than 0.3 μm and an aspect ratio of less than 3.0 is less than 15%.

Provided is a hot rolled steel sheet having a predetermined chemical composition and a microstructure comprising, by area ratio, pearlite: 90 to 100% and pro-eutectoid ferrite: 0 to 10%, wherein the pearlite has an average lamellar spacing of 0.08 to 0.30 μm, and the percentage of cementite in the pearlite having a major axis length of more than 0.3 μm and an aspect ratio of less than 3.0 is less than 15%.

A steel sheet has a predetermined chemical composition containing, in mass %, C: more than 0.18% and less than 0.30%, Mn: more than 2.50% and 4.00% or less, and other elements. The steel micro-structure at a position at a depth of ¼ of the sheet thickness from the surface in an L cross section of the steel sheet is, in area %, tempered martensite: 25 to 90%, ferrite: 5% or less, retained austenite: 10 to 50%, and bainite: 5% or less. At a position at a depth of ¼ of the sheet thickness from the surface of the L cross section, the proportion of a total area of retained austenite grains having an area of 1 μm.sup.2 or more and having a grain shape circularity of 0.1 or more is less than 50% with respect to the entire area of retained austenite. The steel sheet satisfies the formula C.sub.Mnγ/C.sub.Mnα≥1.2.

Provided are a material for hot stamping, wherein the material includes: a steel sheet including carbon (C) in an amount of 0.19 wt % to 0.25 wt %, silicon (Si) in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 0.6 wt %, manganese (Mn) in an amount of 0.8 wt % to 1.6 wt %, phosphorus (P) in an amount less than or equal to 0.03 wt %, sulfur (S) in an amount less than or equal to 0.015 wt %, chromium (Cr) in an amount of 0.1 wt % to 0.6 wt %, boron (B) in an amount of 0.001 wt % to 0.005 wt %, an additive in an amount less than or equal to 0.1 wt %, balance iron (Fe), and other inevitable impurities; and fine precipitates distributed within the steel sheet. The additive includes at least one of titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), and vanadium (V), and the fine precipitates include nitride or carbide of at least one of titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), and vanadium (V) and trap hydrogen.

The present invention relates to steel used for a sash component and the like of a vehicle and, more specifically, to a hot-rolled steel sheet for a high-strength electric resistance welded steel pipe having excellent expandability and a method for manufacturing same, the hot-rolled steel sheet having a smaller decrease in the strength of a welding heat-affected zone (HAZ) formed during electric resistance welding, in comparison with a base material.

A method for producing a steel strip containing, in addition to iron as the main component and unavoidable impurities, one or more of the following oxygen-affine elements in wt. %: Al: more than 0.02, Cr: more than 0.1, Mn: more than 1.3 or Si: more than 0.1, where the surface of the steel strip is cleaned, oxidation-treated and annealed. The treated and annealed steel strip is subsequently coated with a hot-dip coat. In order to be less cost-intensive and to achieve uniform, reproducible adhesion conditions for the coat, the steel strip is oxidation-treated prior to the annealing at temperatures below 200° C., where on the surface of the steel strip, with the formation of oxides with iron from the steel strip, an oxide layer is formed, which contains iron oxide and is reduction-treated during the course of the annealing under a reducing atmosphere to achieve a surface consisting substantially of metallic iron.

A method for producing a steel strip containing, in addition to iron as the main component and unavoidable impurities, one or more of the following oxygen-affine elements in wt. %: Al: more than 0.02, Cr: more than 0.1, Mn: more than 1.3 or Si: more than 0.1, where the surface of the steel strip is cleaned, oxidation-treated and annealed. The treated and annealed steel strip is subsequently coated with a hot-dip coat. In order to be less cost-intensive and to achieve uniform, reproducible adhesion conditions for the coat, the steel strip is oxidation-treated prior to the annealing at temperatures below 200° C., where on the surface of the steel strip, with the formation of oxides with iron from the steel strip, an oxide layer is formed, which contains iron oxide and is reduction-treated during the course of the annealing under a reducing atmosphere to achieve a surface consisting substantially of metallic iron.

Method for producing a precoated steel blank including the successive steps of: —providing a precoated steel strip including a steel substrate having, on at least one of its main faces, a precoating, the precoating including an intermetallic alloy layer and a metallic layer extending atop said intermetallic alloy layer, the metallic layer being a layer of aluminum, a layer of aluminum alloy or a layer of aluminum-based alloy, —laser cutting the precoated steel strip in order to obtain at least one precoated steel blank, the precoated steel blank including a laser cut edge surface resulting from the laser cutting operation, the laser cut edge surface including a substrate portion and a precoating portion, wherein the laser cutting is carried out in such a way that the substrate portion of the laser cut edge directly resulting from the cutting operation has an oxygen content greater than or equal to 15% in weight.

The present invention relates to a zinc plated steel sheet having excellent surface quality and spot weldability, and a manufacturing method therefore. A zinc plated steel sheet according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a base steel sheet and a zinc-based plating layer formed on the surface of the base steel sheet, wherein the GDOES profile of oxygen, which is measured in the depth direction from the surface of the base steel sheet, has a form in which a local minimum point and a local maximum point alternately appear in the depth direction from the surface, and the difference (a local maximum value—a local minimum value) between the oxygen concentration (a local minimum value) at the local minimum point and the oxygen concentration (a local maximum value) at the local maximum point can be 0.1 wt % or more.