This United States Steel promo film “The Electric Arc Furnace” (1955) provides a step-by-step overview of the steel-making process using an electric arc furnace, highlighting the key stages from charging the furnace to tapping the final product. It is one of a series of films made by USS, “The Making, Shaping and Treating of Steel.”

0:00 Main titles. The film introduces the electric arc furnace as the tool used to produce stainless steel and other special steels.

0:42 The furnace’s main “diet” is scrap metal , with electric power as its heat source.

1:10 A large crane opens the furnace roof, allowing scrap to be charged from the top. The roof then swings back into place.

1:56 The operator lowers large graphite electrodes into the furnace. The film notes that the electricity used in a single furnace is enough to light a “fairsized city.” The tremendous heat from the electric arc quickly melts the scrap.

2:37 The “melter,” acting as the master chef, controls the recipe for the steel being made.

2:51 With the power off, limestone and iron ore are added to the molten scrap. The iron ore reacts with unwanted elements like carbon, which bubbles away as carbon monoxide gas.

3:28 The limestone forms a molten slag that captures impurities removed from the metal. After the first slag is removed, the melter prepares for the next phase.

3:52 A second slag , known as the reducing slag , is added. This slag removes dissolved oxides, lowers the oxygen content, and protects valuable alloys from oxidation.

4:07 A paddle is used to circulate the slag and ensure it is thoroughly mixed.

4:25 The electrodes are lowered again to heat the mixture and allow the chemical reaction to take place.

4:50 Slag samples are taken for laboratory testing to ensure the steel meets specifications.

5:05 The final alloys —such as chromium, nickel, or tungsten—are added to the bath to create the specific type of steel required. The temperature is then checked with a pyrometer.

5:25 Once the conditions are right, the power is shut off, and the electrodes are raised.

5:48 The furnace, mounted on a rack and pinion, is tilted by the melter’s lever to pour the molten steel into a waiting ladle. This is the final step in the process.

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