Chapter 13

Rolling of Metals
This chapter describes
Flat rolling
Shape rolling
Production of seamless tubing & pipe
Rolling process of reducing the thickness of a
long work piece
Plates having thickness greater than 6mm
Sheets generally less than 6mm thick
Introduction

Flat Rolling Process
Flat Rolling
Flat Rolling Process
Metal strip enters the roll gap
The strip is reduced in size by the metal rolls
The velocity of the strip is increased the metal strip is reduced in size
Factors affecting Rolling Process
Frictional Forces
Roll Force and Power Requirement

Frictional Forces
Friction Forces acting on strip forces
Max Draft
h
0
-h
f
= 2R
Roll Force
F= W
0
.L.Y
avg
L= sqrt{R(h
o
-h
f
)}
Flat-Rolling Practice
Hot rolling
The initial break down of an ingot
Continuously cast slab
Structure may be brittle
Converts the cast structure to a wrought structure
Finer grains
Enhanced ductility
Reduction in defects
Continuous Casting
Is replacing traditional methods
Faster & better

Product of the first hot-rolling operation - Bloom or slab
Square cross section of 150mm (6in) on one side
Processed father by shape rolling
I-beams
Railroad rails
Flat-Rolling Practice Cont'd
Billets smaller than blooms and rolled into bars and rods
Cold rolling
carried out at room temperature
Produces sheet and strip metal
Better surface finish less scale
Pack rolling when two or more layers of metal are rolled together

Changes in grain structure during hot-rolling
Defects in Rolled Plates & Sheets
Undesirable
Degrade surface appearance
Adversely affect the strength
Sheet metal defects include:
Scale, Rust, Scratches, Gouges, Pits, & Cracks
May be caused by impurities and inclusions
Wavy edges result of roll bending
Alligatoring complex phenomenon
Other Characteristics
Residual stresses produces:
Compressive residual stresses on the surfaces
Tensile stresses in the middle

Tolerances
Cold-rolled sheets: (+/- ) 0.1mm 0.35mm
Tolerances much greater for hot-rolled plates

Surface roughness
Cold rolling can produce a very fine finish
Hot rolling & sand have the same range of surface finish

Gauge numbers the thickness of a sheet is identified by a
gauge number
Schematic Illustration of Various Roll arrangements
Schematic Illustration of various roll arrangements : (a) two-high; (b)
three-high; (c) four-high; (d) cluster mill
Shape-Rolling Operations
Various shapes can be produced by shape rolling
Bars
Channels
I-beams
Railroad rails

Roll-pass design requires considerable experience in order
to avoid external and internal defects
Stages in Shape Rolling of an H-section part. Various other structural
sections such as channels and I-beams, are rolled by this kind of process.
Ring Rolling
A thick ring is expanded into a large diameter ring
The ring is placed between the two rolls
One of which is driven
The thickness is reduced by bringing the rolls together
The ring shaped blank my be produced by:\
Cutting from plate
Piercing
Cutting from a thick walled pipe
Various shapes can be produced by shaped rolls
Typical applications of ring rolling:
Large rings for rockets
Gearwheel rims
Ball-bearing and roller-bearing races
Can be carried out at room temperature
Has short production time
Close dimensional tolerances
RING ROLLING
(a) Schematic illustration of
Ring-rolling operation.
Thickness reduction results
in an increase in the part
diameter.
(b) Examples of cross-sections
that can be formed by ring-
rolling
Thread Rolling
Cold-forming process
Straight or tapered threads are formed on round rods by passing the pipe
though dies
Typical products include
Screws
Bolts
Thread Rolling Cont'd
Threads are rolled in the soft condition
Threads may then be heat treated, and subjected to final machining or grinding
Uncommon or special-purpose threads are machined
Production of Seamless Pipe & Tubing
Rotary tube piercing (Mannesmann process)
Hot-working process
Produces long thick-walled seamless pipe
Carried out by using an arrangement of rotating rolls
Tensile stresses develop at the center of the bar when it is subjected to compressive forces
Continuous Casting & Integrated Mills & Minimills
Continuous casting
Advantages
Highly automated
Reduces product cost
Companies are converting over to this type of casting
Continuous Casting & Integrated Mills & Minimills Cont'd
I ntegrated Mills utilize everything from the production of hot metal to the casting and
rolling of the finished product

Minimills
Scrap metal is melted
Cast continuously
Rolled directly into specific lines of products
Each minimill produces one kind of rolled product
Rod
Bar
Structural steel
Spray Casting : In spray casting the molten metal is sprayed over a
rotating mandrel to produce seamless tubing and pipe
THE END