Rolls for every rolling application

Hot strip mills (HSMs) are among the most demanding environments for rolling mill rolls. Rolls must withstand cyclic thermal shock as hot strip at 900–1200°C contacts the roll surface hundreds of times per campaign, generating progressive surface fatigue, wear, and potential spalling. Each stand position — from roughing through finishing F1 to F7 — has different wear mechanisms and demands specific metallurgical solutions. VSAG supplies rolls optimised for each stand, drawing on our Chinese manufacturing partners' deep experience in HSS, Hi-Cr, and ICDP grades.

Cold rolling mills — whether tandem, reversing, or temper mills — require rolls with exceptional surface finish, precise dimensional tolerances, and high hardness to deliver the strip quality demanded by automotive, packaging, and appliance customers. In cold rolling, there is no thermal buffer between the roll and strip: every surface defect on the roll transfers directly to the steel. VSAG supplies forged work rolls, intermediate rolls, and backup rolls tailored to each stand's specific surface and flatness requirements, complemented by CNC roll grinding machines to maintain roll quality in-house.

Steel pipe and tube production encompasses a range of processes — electric resistance welding (ERW), seamless rolling (rotary piercing, MPM/CPE), and cold drawing — each placing different demands on rolls and tooling. VSAG supplies both flat and grooved rolls for pipe and tube applications, including sizing rolls, forming rolls, and the heavier rolls used in seamless piercing mills. Our cast and forged roll manufacturing partners can produce the specialised profiles and grades required across the full pipe mill process chain.

Heavy plate mills rolling structural steel, pressure vessel plate, shipbuilding plate, and line pipe plate operate at the extreme end of the rolling force spectrum. Back-up rolls up to 2,000 mm diameter and 60 tons must maintain their geometry and integrity through enormous cyclic compressive loads. Work rolls in plate mills operate at lower speeds but higher contact pressures than strip mills, demanding high fatigue resistance alongside surface quality. VSAG supplies both forged and cast backup and work rolls for heavy plate and structural section mills, manufactured by COMPS and Changji respectively.

Stainless steel and special alloy rolling presents distinct challenges: the high work-hardening rate of austenitic and duplex grades imposes extreme rolling forces; the requirement for bright annealed or 2B surface finish demands near-perfect roll surface quality; and the abrasive nature of stainless scale accelerates roll surface degradation. VSAG supplies high-hardness forged work rolls and intermediate rolls specifically selected for stainless applications, combined with roll grinding machines for in-house maintenance of the precise surface finish required.

Aluminium and aluminium alloy rolling is a surface-sensitive process. Even microscopic surface defects on work rolls transfer to the aluminium strip, causing rejects in packaging foil, automotive sheet, and aerospace plate applications. The adhesive nature of aluminium means rolls must be specified to resist pick-up and sticking. VSAG supplies forged work rolls in grades selected for aluminium applications — with polished surface finishes and anti-pickup coatings available — alongside intermediate and backup rolls for 4-Hi and 6-Hi aluminium mills.

Copper and copper alloy strip rolling — for electrical conductors, heat exchangers, connectors, and coinage — demands rolls with high surface quality and resistance to copper adhesion. Hot rolling copper generates an abrasive black oxide scale that wears roll surfaces rapidly; cold rolling requires very smooth surfaces to achieve the bright finish expected by electrical and electronics customers. VSAG supplies both cast and forged rolls selected for copper and brass rolling applications.

Long product rolling mills — bar mills, wire rod mills, and section mills — operate with grooved rolls at speeds up to 100 m/s in the finishing blocks. The groove geometry must be maintained precisely to ensure finished bar and rod diameter tolerances, and roll surface must resist the abrasive mill scale and high contact temperatures. Cast SG iron and chilled iron rolls from Changji are the proven solution for the majority of bar and rod mill applications, with forged steel rolls applied at the highest-speed finishing positions.