Cluster mills can be 10-high, 14-high, or 18-high. In all cases, cluster mills are designed to reduce stainless or high carbon, high strength alloy steels, or any material when reducing increases the yield strength. Cluster mills have the advantage of running very light gauges under precision tolerances.
Two-high rolling mills have a unique advantage in cost savings because a 2-high configuration is less expensive to manufacture. A 2-high mill can be any size. Large rolling mills, similar to photo left, are used for skin passing with small reductions of 1% to 2%.
America’s steel industry produces a vast tonnage of secondary steel. Some of this steel is off gauge or slightly off chemistry. Secondary steel can be purchased at a low price and can be cold rolled to compete with very expensive steels. Surface defect, such as coil breaks can be removed by cold rolling.
There are many methods of producing metal into powder. This is a technology that is becoming more common today. Some high strength, high temperature alloys are made from powder. After rolling into a strip, the powder is put through a furnace and brought up to a eutectic temperature where the chemical reaction causes the elements to mix without melting.
