There are two distinct methods of steel making that include the drawing process. The first drawing process is in the hot form. Steel shapes and reduction to size are a type of process a steel mill uses to reduce bar or bloom steel into a finished product such as rounds, angle, channel, flat and wire products.
The process of hot drawn steel starts in a series of in line reduction rolls. These rolls draw and reduce the steel into the shape of the product. There may be as many as eight roll stands to complete the reduction to the length and size of the finished product. The rolls draw the steel through as reduction happens, giving the product a smooth finish and shape.
The hot drawn process is by far the easiest way to reduce and shape steel. Different speeds of the roll system that are in place add to how the appearance of the finished product will look. Wire and rounds can be manufactured at a much faster rate because of much faster speeds of the roll reduction. It gives the product a much more uniformed look and adds to the usability of the product. The main problems with hot rolled drawing are squareness and temperature of the billet or bloom. The ability of the drawing rolls to grab and draw the steel through are the most important in the steel making process.
The second method of steel drawing are cold drawn steel. Using powerful pressures of dies and rolls the steel is drawn through in a cold state. This drawing method gives the rounds and wire a polished appearance. It also can be twisted to make products for drill bits and shafts for screw jacks in heavy industry. Cold drawn products range into many different areas in the market place. Shafts for hydraulic systems, shock absorbers and other uses make cold drawn steel a complete different market for steel making facilities.
Technology has applied steel drawing into many different areas of the market place. The many uses of the products hot or cold drawn give the customer a wide range of product to choose from. Quality from these types of drawn steel are high and the applications that customers use the product for are many. A good market for any steel making company to have. The methods from the old days of black smiths have come a long way in the way we shape and draw steel today.
