The Benefits of Using Cold Rolled Steel

An Overview of Hot Rolled Steel

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Hot rolled steel is steel that has undergone the rolling process at a temperature above its recrystallization temperature (usually ° F or greater). Compared to unprocessed steel, the processed material exhibits greater formability and workability, making it easier to work with in subsequent processing operations.

The hot rolling process starts with a large, rectangular slab of metal referred to as a billet. First, the billet is heated and compressed into a large roll. While still hot, it passes through a series of rotating rollers to achieve the desired dimensions. In sheet metal production operations, the rolled steel is then wound into coiled rolls and left to cool. In production operations involving other forms, the processed material is cut into the specified units and packaged.

Benefits of Hot Rolled Steel

Hot rolled steel offers several manufacturing advantages, such as:

• Lower cost: Hot rolled steel tends to be less expensive than cold rolled steel since it involves less processing.
• Better workability: As the hot rolling process occurs at elevated temperatures, the processed material is easy to form and shape.
• Little to no internal stress: The hot rolling process involves cooling the steel gradually, which allows the material to essentially normalize its structure and become free of internal stresses.

Applications of Hot Rolled Steel

Since hot rolled steel shrinks slightly during the cooling stage, there is a lesser degree of control over its final shape. For this reason, it is typically used in applications that do not require extremely tight tolerances, such as:

• Agricultural equipment
• Automobile parts (e.g., frames and wheel rims)
• Construction materials (e.g., I-beams)
• Railroad equipment (e.g., tracks and railcar components)

We&#;re one of Utah&#;s top steel suppliers at Wasatch Steel, and we&#;re here to provide you with all the custom steel you need to complete your next project. Steel sheets of all shapes and sizes are some of our most popular products, and we provide them at industry standard quality.

There are dozens of different styles and variations of steel sheets. One of the most common ways to classify them is by the temperature at which they were rolled &#; cold rolled or hot rolled. Let&#;s look at the pros and cons of cold rolled steel for your next project.

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What is It?

When steel is rolled out to form a coil during its production, this is done at varying degrees of temperature. In all cases where this temperature is considered at or below the room temperature, this is considered cold rolled steel.

Cold rolled steel will be smooth to the touch, strong and not particularly flexible. It&#;s generally found in flat, square or round shapes.

Pros

There are a couple distinct benefits to cold rolled steel:

• Strength: Cold rolled steel is up to 20 percent stronger than typical hot rolled steel. Using heat to roll the steel can weaken it, but keeping it above room temperature holds its structural integrity. This makes it perfect for your biggest and toughest projects.
• Surface finish: Cold rolled steel also looks better than hot rolled. It&#;s the preferred technique for furniture, cars and other aesthetic areas for this reason, and has a modern look.

Cons

There are also a couple downsides to cold rolled steel for some people:

• Price: Because of its advantages over hot rolled steel, cold rolled steel is more expensive. Also, because cold rolled steel is tougher to manipulate, it&#;s takes more time and can cost more to take it through similar processes.
• Width: Shaving down a hot rolling metal sheet is very due to the temperature, but it can&#;t be done with cold rolled steel. This means you have to be more careful about measuring width in advance &#; you won&#;t have any leeway once you get started.
• Time: As we mentioned above, the difficulty in manipulating cold rolled steel can make projects take longer to complete than the equivalent project using hot rolled steel.

Want to learn more about cold rolled steel, or any of our steel services? The experts at Wasatch Steel are standing by.