This tool steel has good wear quality and for the average run of light gauge cold formed sections could be expected to roll several, on the order of 3 to 5 million feet or more before regrinding. Generally speaking, 4 to 5 regrinds can be made before the rolls are scrapped.
For specific industry and product applications, other materials may be used. For light gauge, pre-painted or galvanized wide products, such as building panels or metal roofing, chromed coated alloy steel may be used, due to the liberal tolerances of the application and the light forming duties involved. Additionally, if there is a non-magnetic or temperature sensitive environment for the roll tooling, such as inline welding or heat treating, other materials may be required, specifically aluminum bronze (non-magnetic) or AISI H13 tool steel (heat resistance compared to D2). Finally, for extremely high speed, high wear applications, most commonly tube mills, tungsten carbide tooling may be used. Carbide tooling may offer an order of magnitude improvement in tooling wear, but it is substantially more brittle than toolset, so case must be taken in the handling of the tooling pieces.