MDB3073 Manufacturing Technology 2

Week 2
Metal Forming-Rolling of Metals

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Learning Outcome
Students should be able to:
Understand the process of rolling of metals.
Calculate the rolling force during manufacturing

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Rolling

Process of reducing the thickness of long workpiece by

compressive forces applied through a set of rolls.
Carried out at elevated temperatures where cast metal is
broken down with finer grain size and improved
properties.

Fig.1
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The Flat-Rolling Process

Fig.2

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The Flat-Rolling Process

The maximum possible draft is defined as the difference

between the initial and final strip thicknesses. It can be shown
that this is a function of the coefficient of friction, between the
strip and the roll and the roll radius, R, by the following
relationship:

ho h f 2 R

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...1

Thus, as expected, the higher the friction and the larger the roll
radius, the greater the maximum possible draft becomes.

Roll force, torque and power requirement

The rolls apply pressure on the flat strip in order to reduce its
thickness, resulting in a roll force, F.
The roll force in flat rolling can be estimated from the formula

F LwYavg

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..2

where L is the roll-strip contact length, w is the width of the

strip, and Yavg is the average true stress

Roll force, torque and power requirement

The total power (for two rolls) in S.I. units is

Power

2 FLN
kW
60,000

where F is in newtons, L is in meters, and N is the

revolutions per minute of the roll.
In traditional English units, the total power can be
expressed as
2 FLN
Power
hp
33,000

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...3

..4

Example 1 Calculation of roll and torque in flat rolling

An annealed copper strip, 250 mm wide and 25 mm

thick, is rolled to a thicknes of 20 mm in one pass. The
roll radius is 300 mm, and the rolls rotate at 100 rpm.
Calculate the roll force and the power required in this
operation.

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Example 1 Calculation of roll and torque in flat rolling

Solution: The roll force is determined from Eq. (..2) in

which L is the roll-strip contact length. It can be shown
from simple geometry that this length is given
approximately by

The average true stress for annealed copper is

determined as follows. First note that the absolute value
of the true strain that the strip undergoes in this
operation is

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Example 1 Calculation of roll and torque in flat rolling

Referring to Fig. (true stress Vs Strain), note that annealed

copper has a true stress of about 80 MPa in the
unstrained condition, and at a true strain of 0.223, the
true stress is 280 MPa. Thus, the average true stress is
(80+280)/2=180 MPa. We can now define the roll force
38.7 250
as
F LwY

180 MPa 1.74 MN

avg

1000 1000

The total power is calculated from Eq. (...3), noting that

N = 100 rpm. Thus,
2 FLN
38.7
100
6
Power
2 1.74 10

60,000
1000 60,000
705 kW

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Defects in rolled products

Successful rolling practice requires material properties,

process variables and lubrication.
Surface defects result from inclusions and impurities in
the material.
Structural defects affect the integrity of the rolled
product.
Wavy edges are caused by bending of the rolls.

Wavy edges
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Zipper cracks

Edge cracks

Alligatoring

Schematic illustration of typical defects in flat rolling:

(a) wavy edges; (b) zipper cracks in the center of the
strip; (c) edge cracks; and (d) alligatoring.

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Other characteristics of rolled metals

Residual stresses
Develop due to inhomogeneous plastic deformation in
the roll gap.
Generates compressive residual stresses on the surfaces
and tensile stresses in the bulk.

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Fig.3

Various rolling processes and mills

Shape rolling
Straight and long structural shapes (such as channels,
I-beams, railroad rails, and solid bars) are formed at
elevated temperatures by shape rolling (profile rolling),
in which the stock goes through a set of specially
designed rolls.
Cold shape rolling also can be done, with the starting
materials in the shape of rod, with various crosssections.
Fig .4 shows the Steps in the shape rolling of an I-beam
part. Various other structural sections, such as channels
and rails, also are rolled by this kind of process.
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Various rolling processes and mills

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Fig .4 Shape rolling of an I- beam

Various rolling processes and mills

Roll Forging
In this operation (also called cross rolling), the crosssection of a round bar is shaped by passing it through
a pair of rolls with profiled grooves.
Fig .5 shows two examples of the roll-forging
operation, also known as cross-rolling. Tapered leaf
springs and knives can be made by this process.

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Various rolling processes and mills

Fig.5 Roll forging / cross rolling

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Various rolling processes and mills

Fig.6 Skew rolling

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Various rolling processes and mills

Ring Rolling

In ring rolling, a thick ring is expanded into a large-diameter

thinner one.

The ring is placed between sets of two rolls, one of which is

driven while the other is idle.

Fig 7 (a) shows schematic illustration of a ring-rolling operation.

Thickness reduction results in an increase in the part diameter.
(b) through (d) Examples of cross-sections that can be formed
by ring rolling.

Typical applications of ring rolling are casings for rockets and

turbines, jet engine cases, gearwheel rims, ball-bearing and
roller-bearing races, flanges, and reinforcing rings for pipes.
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Various rolling processes and mills

Fig .7 Ring rolling

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Various rolling processes and mills

Thread Rolling
Thread rolling is a cold-forming process by which
straight or tapered threads are formed on round rods
or wire by passing them between dies.
Threads are formed on the rod or wire with each
stroke of a pair of flat reciprocating dies.
Fig .8 shows Thread rolling processes: (a) and (b)
reciprocating flat dies; (c) two-roller dies; (d) A
collection of thread-rolled parts made economically at
high production rates.
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Various rolling processes and mills

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Fig .8 Thread rolling

Various rolling processes and mills

Thread Rolling

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Thread rolling is superior to the other methods of

manufacturing threads, because machining the threads
cuts through the grain-flow lines of the material, whereas
rolling the threads results in a grain-flow pattern that
improves the strength of the thread.
Fig .9 (a) shows features of a machined or rolled thread.
Grain flow in (b) machined and (c) rolled threads. Unlike
machining, which cuts through the grains of the metal, the
rolling of threads imparts improved strength because of
cold working and favorable grain flow.

Various rolling processes and mills

Fig .9

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Various rolling processes and mills

Thread Rolling
Lubrication is important in thread-rolling operations in
order to obtain a good surface finish and surface
integrity and to minimize defects.

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Various rolling processes and mills

Rotary Tube Piercing

Also known as the Mannesmann process, this is a hotworking operation for making long, thick-walled
seamless pipe and tubing.
Fig 10 shows the cavity formation in a solid, round bar
and its utilization in the rotary tube-piercing process
for making seamless pipe and tubing.

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Various rolling processes and mills

Tube Rolling
The diameter and thickness of pipes and tubing can be
reduced by tube rolling, which utilizes shaped rolls.
Fig .10 shows the schematic illustration of various
tube-rolling processes: (a) with a fixed mandrel; (b)
with a floating mandrel; (c) without a mandrel; and (d)
pilger rolling over a mandrel and a pair of shaped rolls.
Tube diameters and thicknesses also can be changed
by other processes, such as drawing, extrusion, and
spinning.
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Various rolling processes and mills

Fig .10 Tube rolling

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Various mills

Integrated mills
These mills are large facilities that involve complete
integration of the activitiesfrom the production of
hot metal in a blast furnace to the casting and rolling
of finished products ready to be shipped to the
customer.

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Thank you

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