Cold rolling is a process in which metals are heated to a very high temperature and are then rolled. Metal is easily workable when it is heated to a low temperature. But it requires a special heat treating process to work at a high temperature.
Metals like stainless steel require high temperature processing and are not easy to work with. They require the help of a special type of heat treatment called cold-rolling, where a flat sheet is worked on rollers. This process is quite effective in creating a smooth, thin surface and reducing the weight of the metal. Cold rolling is used to make wire and metal sheets of various thicknesses and widths.
This type of manufacturing can be quite useful in stainless steel cold drawn bar making small wires and other items. It is possible to make thin wires and sheet metal out of stainless steel by cold rolling. But cold rolling stainless steel is quite difficult to produce. It is not easy to make the steel soft enough for cold rolling.
It is possible to make a thin sheet, but making thick wires is quite difficult. It requires large size rolls and lots of energy. To work on large size rolls and to achieve a uniform surface, the steel needs to be annealed. Annealing makes the steel flexible enough to work on rolls. But after working on a number of rolls, it becomes brittle.
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