1. Historical aspects

1.1 A brief history of rolling

In his book Le Savoir Fer, J. Corbion traces the history of the iron and steel industry as a whole, part of which refers to rolling mills [1] .

The forge was the main tool used by the ancients to shape solid metal. This operation was usually carried out hot. Cold thickness reduction was used for relatively "soft" metals, such as gold, silver and zinc.

Known since the 15th century, rolling technology involves passing a piece of metal between two cylinders to change its shape. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have "invented" the rolling mill, based on drawings of machines used to prepare lead strips for stained-glass windows.