Steel Search Engine

Anyone who regularly uses the internet to search for information relating to steel, will be aware of the frustration of having to scroll past pages of irrelevant sites. Whilst steel is by definition a metal alloy consisting mainly of iron, the word steel is used in many contexts, add the word strip to the search and you are in to a whole new world!

I have been experimenting with specialised search engines to see which bring up the most relevant pages, with mixed success so far. I have come across a few which yield better information than the more general search engines including azom which I have mentioned in a previous post. I have put together a page with links to some of the more specialized search engines here I hope that some will find it useful.

I also came across Google Scholar earlier today, which began to look promising until I realised that most of the results are coming from CSA which looks like a “pay to search” site. What Google’s plans are for this search is a guess, it’s in beta at the moment, but may well be worth a try.

For now I am hoping the “Swicki”, which is a cross between a wicki and a search engine, may be the way to go, certainly it is in principal a great idea. You will find my steel Swicki on the right hand side bar. Please give it a try and let me know if it works better for you than a general steel search engine. Whilst using it, there is the facility to recommend sites for inclusion, promotion or deletion, please take advantage of that facility, then over time it will hopefully be an asset to us all.