What Is a Steel Billet? Sizes, Grades and Uses
A plain guide to steel billets: how they are made, typical sizes, grades and where they are used.
Definition
A steel billet is a semi-finished piece of steel with a square or round section, usually cast continuously and cut to length. It is later forged, rolled or machined into a final product.
How billets are made
Steel is melted, refined and cast continuously through a water-cooled mould. The solid strand is cut to length and cooled. For forging quality, the melt is refined and degassed before casting.
Typical sizes
Billets are commonly 100 × 100, 125 × 125 and 160 × 160 mm. Larger sections, 200 × 200 and 250 × 250 mm, are called blooms. Kesari Alloys supplies these in lengths up to 12 metres.
Where billets are used
Forging, ring rolling, upsetting, and rolling into bars and sections. They feed the automotive, valve, power, oil field, railway and heavy engineering industries.
What to specify when buying
Grade and standard, section and length, quantity, testing (ultrasonic, PMI), supply condition (as cast, heat treated, ground) and the delivery location.
Related guides
Billet vs Bloom vs Slab: Differences Explained
How billets, blooms and slabs differ in section, process and end use, and which Kesari Alloys sizes are billets and which are blooms.
Continuous Casting Process for Steel Billets
How liquid steel becomes a solid billet in continuous casting, and what controls quality.
How to Choose the Right Billet Size for Forging and Rolling
A method to match billet or bloom section to the finished forging or rolled section, using reduction ratio and yield.
Billet size chart · Weight calculator · Steel grade directory