Hot Strip Mill

The Hot Strip Mill (HSM) is where the massive slabs produced by continuous casting are reduced into manageable rolls of steel. The slab is reheated to approximately 1100°C to 1250°C and passed through a series of "roughing" and "finishing" stands. These stands use immense hydraulic pressure to squeeze the steel, reducing a 250mm thick slab down to a strip as thin as 1.5mm. In the tube industry, the HSM dictates the "gauge" (thickness) of the tube wall. The precision of this mill is paramount; if the strip thickness varies across its width (known as "crown"), the resulting tube will have an uneven wall thickness, making it difficult to thread or join in structural applications.