Hot Rolled Vs Cold Rolled Steel Sheet

As noted in an earlier post different types of steel undergo a wide range of processes to achieve the proper physical properties many people have heard that there s a difference between hot and cold rolled steel but don t understand what how the production of hot rolled or cold rolled steel is different from one another what industries and applications hot rolled and cold rolled serve.

Hot rolled vs cold rolled steel sheet. The differences between hot rolled steel and cold rolled steel relates to the way these metals are processed at the mill and not the product specification or grade. Thus the yield strength of cold rolled steel is higher than that of hot rolled steel. The rolls induce plastic deformation. Hot rolled steel has a blue gray appearance and a rough feel once it completes the rolling process and will remain malleable and soft.

In comparison a cold rolled steel product with the same chemical composition has a yield strength of 365 mpa. This makes hot rolled steel a good choice for the manufacturing of structural components such as i beams or simple cross sections such as rail tracks. Steel comes in many grades specifications shapes and finishes the world steel association lists over 3 500 different grades of steel each with unique properties. Hot rolled steel is easier to make to shape and form.

Hot rolled steel is weaker than cold rolled but it s also cheaper since it doesn t go through the second production process. Hot rolled steel involves rolling the steel at high temperatures where cold rolled steel is processed further in cold reduction mills where the material is cooled followed by. The major d ifference between hot rolled and cold rolled steel is the way they are processed. Hot rolled steel involves rolling the steel sheets above re crystallization temperatures.

Sheets can also be produced in cold rolled option but they are only available on special request. The various types mean that steel can by widely used in infrastructure appliances vehicles wind turbines and many more applications. Cold rolled steel is stored and sold in coiled form after rolling. To know various materials used to manufacture sheet metal parts.

However this doesn t automatically mean cold is better just because it s stronger and more expensive. It is also used to produce sheet metal. Although this combines two processes the method as i will point out later has an advantage of economy and scheduling in the cold formed process. Hot rolled steel is more malleable allowing it to be forced into a variety of different shapes.

Hot rolled steel is malleable and perfect for industrial applications such as structural beams rail tracks and sheet metal. First hot rolled steel coil is manufactured and later it is run through a mill which forms the coil into the steel sheet pile sections. Whereas cold rolled steel is processed in cold reduction mills followed by annealing and tempering. As an example a hot rolled steel product may have a yield strength of 235 mpa.