ABSTRACT
Rolling is used to produce §at products: hot for plate and strip (usually coiled) and cold for strip, sheet, and foil [1-5]. Rolling of rods into coils for wire drawing is applied to continuously cast bars [6]. However, it is second in importance to extrusion, which produces long, hollow, and complex sections with great facility (Chapter 14). Roll processing was transferred initially from, and in many ways is still similar to, steel technology except for the exclusion of shapes produced by extrusion [7]. Historically, hand rolling was initiated on precious metals and later extended to iron. With expanded production of wrought iron, hot rolling with waterpower and later steam was introduced, supplanting plain anvil forging in productivity and dimensional control [8]. Hot rolling included plates for boilers, ships, and bridges, as well as rails and narrow strip for tube welding and nail making. Hot-pressure butt welding and hot tube piercing were never transferred to Al because of enhanced capabilities of extrusion (Section 14.1) [9]. Cold rolling produced thin strips for utensils and for food cans after tinning; these applications have been increasingly captured by aluminum. Rolling of aluminum is facilitated compared to steel because of the lower stresses and temperatures relative to the steel rolls [10,11]. Due to less scaling than for steels, there are reduced problems of variable heat transfer and roll friction [10,11].
