| There are many different rolling processes in | | | | situations. Cold rolled steel tends to have a better |
| metalwork, all of which bring about different results. | | | | surface finish and has a twenty per cent higher |
| From ring rolling and controlled rolling to flat rolling and | | | | strength following the rolling process. Cold rolled |
| roll bending, a great wealth of processes can be | | | | materials are usually a lot smaller than ones created |
| employed in the industry in the creation of differing | | | | through hot rolling though the end result can have far |
| products. | | | | more directionality than the former type. The steel |
| But what exactly is rolling? Simply put, it's the | | | | comes in several forms: full hard, half hard, quarter |
| process where a stock metal, for example steel, is | | | | hard and skin rolled. Each type describes the |
| passed between two rolls whose weight and | | | | thickness and pliability of the steel. For example, full |
| pressure manipulate the steel's shape and size. Slightly | | | | hard steel can be bent back on itself to around fifty |
| more complicated is the two different styles of | | | | per cent without any signs of strain on the metal |
| rolling, which are described as 'hot rolling' or 'cold | | | | showing, whereas quarter hard is much more pliable |
| rolling'. | | | | and can bend to further extremes. |
| Hot rolling is when the steel is rolled above its | | | | Modern metal rolling can be attributed to the 18th |
| recrystallisation temperature. Before it is rolled, the | | | | century iron master Henry Cort, whose innovative |
| steel is warmed to such a temperature that it begins | | | | production systems during the British Industrial |
| to deform and, during the process, the steel begins | | | | Revolution gave way to the processes used in metal |
| to recrystallise after having been manipulated into its | | | | rolling today. His designs, for which he was awarded |
| new shape and size. Hot rolled steel is used in such | | | | with a patent in 1783, allowed metal mills to produce |
| construction items as rail road tracks and is a very | | | | fifteen times more output than they were previously |
| strong material, though one without much | | | | doing with a hammer and his work helped the metal |
| directionality. | | | | industry leap forward a great deal. Without his genius, |
| Cold rolling is the reverse: the steel is worked when | | | | products like cold rolled steel may not be available |
| its temperature is below that of its recrystallisation | | | | today and factories could have ended up mass |
| temperature - usually at room temperature in most | | | | producing steel in an entirely different fashion. |