Rolling (metalworking)

 Rolling is a fabricating process in which the metal, plastic, paper, glass, etc. is passed through a pair (or pairs) of rolls. There are two types of rolling process, flat and profile rolling. In flat rolling the final shape of the product is either classed as sheet (typically thickness less than 3 mm, also called "strip") or plate (typically thickness more than 3 mm). In profile rolling, the final product may be a round rod or other shaped bar such as a structural section (beam, channel, joist etc). Rolling is also classified according to the temperature of the metal rolled. If the temperature of the metal is above its recrystallization temperature then the process is termed as hot rolling, If the temperature of metal is below its recrystallization temperature the process is termed as cold rolling. Other processes also termed as 'hot bending' are induction bending, whereby the section is heated in small sections, and dragged into a required radius.

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Heavy plate tends to be formed using a press process, and is termed forming, rather than rolling.

See also

• Rolling mill
• Steel mill