Walzwerk

Walzwerk, German for rolling mill, denotes a facility in which metal stock is formed and reduced in thickness by passing between rotating rolls. Rolling mills process metals such as steel, aluminum, copper and alloys, and can be part of steelworks, fabrication plants, or stand-alone operations.

In hot rolling, the workpiece is heated in a reheat furnace above its recrystallization temperature and passed through a series of hot stands to achieve the required cross-section and thickness, producing blooms, slabs, or coiled products. Cold rolling operates at or near room temperature to produce thinner sheets or strips with improved surface finish and strength, often followed by annealing.

Typical equipment includes reheating furnaces, roughing and finishing stands (two-high, four-high, or higher configurations), rollers, gear drives, scale breakers, lubrication systems, and coilers or reelers. Modern mills may be arranged as continuous or tandem lines to achieve high throughput and tight dimensional control.

The rolling of metal emerged during the Industrial Revolution; innovations in the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Henry Cort's methods, led to modern hot rolling. In the 20th century, cold rolling and tandem continuous mills further increased productivity and product quality.

Walzwerk is a general term in German industrial literature for rolling facilities; the exact configuration and product range vary by plant and metal.