In our last post we discussed hot-rolled steel bars. Today we’ll be talking about cold-rolled steel bars and how the two are different. If you’re looking for cold-rolled steel bars in Phoenix or the Southwest for your next welding or construction project, look no further than Arizona Iron Supply.

Cold-Rolled Steel

Cold-rolled steel is hot-rolled steel that undergoes further processing for the purpose of strengthening it. After being hot-rolled, the steel is then processed in cold reduction mills. The steel is cooled to room temperature and then it is annealed to increase ductility. The process of cold-rolling will produce steel with closer dimensional tolerances and a wider range of surface finishes than hot-rolled steel. Common cold-rolled products include sheets, strips, bars, and rods. These products are usually smaller than the same products that are hot-rolled.

Uses for Cold-Rolled Steel

• • Automobile parts, such as motorcycle exhaust pipes
  • Appliance parts
  • Furniture and furniture parts such as metal furniture, desks, filing cabinets, tables, and chairs
  • Computer-cabinet hardware
  • Light industrial applications such as tool boxes, shelving, and lighting fixtures
  • Other Applications such as hinges, tubing, steel drums, lawn mowers, electronic cabinetry, water heaters, metal containers, fan blades, frying pans, wall and ceiling mount kits

Benefits of Cold-Rolled Steel

Strength: Cold-rolled steel is up to 20 percent stronger than typical hot-rolled steel. Due to this strength advantage, steel structures such as cold-rolled bridging profiles require less of the material to hold the same weight as the hot-rolled counterpart.

Surface finish: Cold-rolled steel also looks better than hot-rolled steel. It’s the preferred technique for items such as furniture and cars, in which aesthetics are more important.

Strength-to-weight ratio: Cold-rolled steel is very unlikely to crack or split in environments where the steel is under immense pressure, as it has one of the highest strength-to-weight ratios out there.

Tolerance: Cold-rolled sheet metal is significantly more tolerant than its hot-rolled counterpart. In other words, it is best suited to applications where more exact shapes and smaller products are required.

Other advantages: It also doesn’t change its formation or physical appearance after processing, as some metals do. Cold-rolled steel is also very versatile, as it has a wide variety of applications from large to small.

Our team at Arizona Iron Supply has over 40 years of experience in working with cold-rolled steel. Unmatched by competitors, we are the leading supplier of hot and cold-rolled steel bars in Phoenix and throughout the Southwest. Be sure to check out our extensive inventory. Call us or place your order online today. We take special pride in our prompt service and will respond to your order quickly!

Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay