Rolling

51 lines that use it

What it looks like on the line

• TinplateCold-roll it again. From 1929, cold rolling was used to reduce the strip to its final thin gauge. The surface comes out smooth and bright, which makes a good base for plating.
• Steel I-beamBreak it down in the blooming mill. Heavy reversing rolls squash the bloom, pass after pass, rolling forward and back. The cross-section shrinks and the piece gets longer, ready for the shaping mill.
• Shipping containerRoll the weathering steel. Container steel is a weathering grade, usually called CorTen, that builds a protective rust layer instead of eating itself away. It is rolled thin and cut into panels.
• Window glassPull the ribbon off. As the glass slides along the bath it cools from about 1,100 °C to roughly 600 °C, firm enough to lift onto rollers. The speed of the rollers against the speed of the flow sets the thickness.
• Razor bladeRoll the ribbon. Stainless steel is rolled into a very thin strip, then slit to the width of a blade.
• Instant noodlesRoll it into a belt. Two sheets of dough are pressed together by rollers into one belt, and the pass is repeated until it is thin. Rolling builds gluten structure and gives the noodle strength.
• Inflatable pool toyRoll out the vinyl sheet. Polyvinyl chloride, often called vinyl, is the most common material for pool floats and air mattresses, because it is cheap, durable and water-resistant. It is made into thin flexible sheet.
• Corn flakesSqueeze between rolls. Warm grits drop from a feed hopper into the nip of the flaking rolls and come out as thin, soft flakes.
• Lithium-ion cellCalender to thickness. Rollers press the sheet to a controlled thickness and porosity, without letting it crack.
• SaxophoneRoll and weld the tube. The sheet is rolled, welded along its seam, and drawn out on a conical chuck. Several rounds of tempering take out the stresses that forming builds in the metal.
• Steel pipeCurl it into a tube. Set after set of rollers bend the flat strip, a little further each time, until the two edges meet in a straight seam.
• StapleRoll the wire flat. Rollers press the round wire into a thin flat ribbon, so each staple has a flat crown and legs.