Metaltech Plate and Sheet Metal

Hot Rolled A-36 Plate and Sheet Metal

Metaltech provides hot rolled plate and sheet metal that was formed at over 1,000°F. It has a characteristic, rough, blue-grey finish and is suitable for standard sheet metal applications where appearance and tolerance criteria are not strict.

Plate has been defined as a metal sheet with a thickness of .2300″ or more; sheet is defined as metal that is thicker than foil and less than .2300″. Due to its higher thickness, carbon steel plate is used for products that require durability and strength but do not require the lower weight of a thinner metal sheet.

Hot rolled steel is typically cheaper than cold rolled steel due to the fact that it is often manufactured without any delays in the process, and therefore the reheating of the steel is not required (as it is with cold rolled). When the steel cools off it will shrink slightly thus giving less control on the size and shape of the finished product when compared to cold rolled.

Cold Rolled Plate and Sheet Metal

Cold rolled sheet metal is superior to hot rolled sheet metal in the following manner. It has a strictly controlled tolerance, concentricity, straightness, and a blemish-free to nearly blemish-free finish. It has lower carbon content and has been annealed (heated to a high temperature) and is, therefore, softer and easier to work with than hot rolled sheet. Additionally, surface oxides have been removed, resulting in an attractive, gleaming finish. The term Cold Rolled is mistakenly used on all products, when actually the product name refers to the rolling of flat rolled sheet and coil products.