Finalizing Product Designs: 3 Advantages Of Opting For Cold Rolled Steel Rather Than Hot Rolled Steel

23 December 2015
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With the high success rate of a project being fully funded on sites like Kickstarter reaching 36.75%, more and more people are willing to tap into their creative minds in order to invent products and creations they believe will make a difference. If you believe you have an amazing product idea that would be hugely successful, you'll have to first design a prototype to show investors what they'll be investing in. This involves choosing the materials you'll be using. If your product design requires steel, you'll be faced with two options: hot rolled steel and cold rolled steel. Cold rolled steel is basically hot rolled steel that has been further processed at close to normal room temperature. Here are 4 advantages to cold rolled steel.

Increased Yield and Tensile Strength

By choosing cold rolled steel, you are essentially improving the quality of the product that you'll be providing to your investors. This is because cold rolled steel is produced via a process known as cold drawing. Cold drawing can significantly improve yield point and tensile strength of the steel, which means that it will be able to tolerate wear and tear. Cold rolled steel will be less likely to dent or break if it is impacted by any external force. 

Better Overall Finish

If the steel parts are going to be used in a visible location, then you really do have no choice but to go with cold rolled steel rather than hot rolled steel. This is because hot rolled steel does not look as polished as cold rolled steel. In addition, you will still be able to see a lot of surface imperfections on hot rolled steel. The turning process involved in manufacturing cold rolled steel will remove most of these surface imperfections, and final polishing stage will improve the surface finish. Cold rolled steel parts will simply make your product look a lot more professional and appealing to consumers. 

The removal of the surface imperfections will also improve the quality of the steel, and once again, contribute to improve overall durability. While the surface of hot rolled steel may be blotchy, cold rolled steel is grey in appearance, and has a smooth finish to it.

Superior Tolerance

Depending on how the steel may be used, your product design may require specific tolerance ranges that are compatible with the work load that the steel must tolerate. Cold rolled steel requires further tempering in comparison to hot rolled steel. This process involves a stage known as grinding, which will produce steel with a closer dimensional tolerance range that will fit the specifications you are seeking. This, in turn, products steel parts that will fit the expected standards and quality requirements imposed by the government. 

If your product is something that needs to be approved by the government or is something that may be used in numerous industries, the design may need to be patented. The design of the product will need to be evaluated for safety reasons, and certain requirements or specifications may apply. Cold rolled steel will be able to better meet these requirements in comparison to hot rolled steel due to the specific factors they will be able to tolerate.

Conclusion

In general, cold rolled steel is a better option than hot rolled steel; however, cold rolled steel can be more difficult to work with due to its increased carbon content. When designing a prototype, you really need to consider whether the steel parts must meet certain requirements. Consider the major differences between hot rolled steel and cold rolled steel parts and how these differences will affect your product when making a decision.