The World of Metal-Rolling

by Anirudh Kumar professional WRITTER

In the world of metalworking, in order to manipulate the thickness of metal, these metal stocks are passed through one or more pairs of rolls and are hence, known as rolling. In layman’s terms, when molten steel is rolled between rollers to reduce its thickness in order to make it uniform, the steel is referred to as rolled.

So, what is metal rolling?

To begin with, metal rolling has been a part of human history since ages and in fact, with all the evidence we have gathered of basic rolling mills, also known as slitting mills, can be found way into the Middle East and South Asia as early as 600 BC. After several years, approximately in the 1780’s, Henry Cort of England managed to secure a patent for his application of grooved rolls for rolling metal bars. To make things more interesting, even the modern rolling methods have been derived from this specific principle.

How does this work, really?

First things first, there are mainly two types of rolling methods - hot rolling and cold rolling. When it comes to hot rolling, metals are milled at such a temperature that does not allow recrystallization of the metal, which is usually above one thousand degrees Fahrenheit. In addition to this, hot rolled metal usually lacks directionality in terms of mechanical properties as well as deformation-induced stresses. Sheet metals consisting of plain and simple cross-sections are actually produced using hot rolling. The types of products are utilised in order to make truck frames, rail tracks, agricultural equipment, metal buildings and the likes.

It is also important to note that the dimension of hot rolled steel parts are not very precise and hence, they are used in applications where material strength and inexact surface quality is not of umpteen importance. In fact, in order to improve the surface quality, the workpieces can go through a pickling process where uneven scaling can be fixed by the moths of sand blasting or grinding.

One of the best benefits of hot formed steel is that these types of steel are more affordable considering the fact that they do not require a lot of processing. In addition to this, hot rolled steel is normalized since it is not quenched and also tends to cool at room temperature. This is precise what makes it free from internal stress.

On the other hand cold rolled steel has a lot better surface dimension features and hence, is used in places where aesthetic and precision are of utmost importance. To add to it, cold rolled metal has improved properties because they are harder and stronger and are therefore, more resistant against tension breaking or deformation.

If you are looking for premium quality steel, it is important to ensure that you settle with a trusted brand, such as JSW Steel - they produce both hot as well as cold rolled steels and its products conform to JIS, EN, ASTM as well as IS standard.