On the other hand cold rolled steel is processed as hot roll but once it has cooled to room temperature it received additional processing for different benefits.
Cold rolled sheet metal vs hot rolled.
Typically mills take hot rolled steel after it s mostly or completely cooled and work it to its final dimension by either rolling it extruding it or drawing the metal over a mandrel.
In this article we will compare hot rolled vs cold rolled steel sheets.
Hot rolled steel is rolled or shaped at a high temperature while cold rolled steel is rolled at room temperature.
Whereas cold rolled steel is processed in cold reduction mills followed by annealing and tempering.
During the hot rolling process steel is heated to its melting point while being worked changing the composition of the steel to make it more malleable.
Each type of steel has its advantages and disadvantages and costs for the two types of steel are also different.
Hot rolling and cold rolling are two methods of shaping steel.
Basic difference between hot rolled and cold rolled steel is the way they are processed.
Hot rolled steel comes with a scaly surface slightly rounded edges and corners and the surface is non oily.
Cold rolled steel is essentially hot rolled steel that has been through further processing.
Generally speaking hot roll steel has a rougher surface wider tolerances and lower cost.
During cold rolling the steel is annealed or exposed to heat and allowed to cool which improves ductility.
As an example a hot rolled steel product may have a yield strength of 235 mpa.
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.
Hot rolled steel involves rolling the steel above re crystallization temperatures.
The main advantages of cold working are.
Cold rolling is done when the metal is able to form new grains as the old ones are deformed by rolling and bending the metal.
Cold rolled has a smooth and shiny finish while hot rolled has a grey and scaly finish.
In short hot rolled steel is processed at the mill at high temperatures and that s it.
Both hot rolled steel and cold rolled steel start out in essentially the same way and both can have the same grades and specifications.
Cold rolled has sharper corners and more precise dimensions than hot rolled.
But cold rolled steel undergoes additional processing steps resulting in improved properties that can be exploited for different applications.
There are some fundamental differences between these two types of metal.
Once hot rolled steel has cooled it is then re rolled at room temperature to achieve more exact dimensions and better surface qualities.
Cold rolled steel has an oily or greasy finish very smooth surface and very sharp edges.
Thus the yield strength of cold rolled steel is higher than that of hot rolled steel.