Enhanced work roll surface texture for cold and hot rolling of aluminum and its alloys

A method of making a strip product having a surface that is both bright and clean after being rolled by work rolls of a roll stand, comprising:

• polishing the surface of at least one of the work rolls to substantially remove grind lines from the roll surface,
• providing the roll surface with a texture comprised of minute, ovoid depressions having relatively shallow slopes extending in the direction of rolling followed by steeper slopes at the opposite ends of the depressions,
• creating such depressions by directing a laser beam against the roll surface at oblique incidence to the roll surface normal during relative movement of the beam and surface,
• polishing the roll surface again to remove roll material that is raised above the nominal roll surface that results from melting of the roll surface and the deposition of roll material vaporized by the laser beam, and
• reducing the thickness of a metal material with such textured roll in the roll stand without substantial micro-machining of the surface of the metal material such that the generation of wear debris and smudge is minimized in reducing the thickness of the metal material.

A method of reducing the thickness of a metal material between work rolls in a rolling stand when the temperature of the metal material ranges from about 850.degree. to 980.degree. F. without substantial transfer of metal from the surfaces of the metal material to the surfaces of the work rolls and retransfer of the metal to the surfaces of the metal material, the method comprising:

• providing the surface of at least one of the work rolls with a texture comprised of minute, ovoid depressions having relatively shallow slopes in the direction of rolling and steeper slopes in the opposite direction,
• creating such depressions by directing a laser beam against the roll surface at oblique incidence to the roll surface normal while relative movement is provided between said roll and beam,
• polishing the roll surface to remove roll material that is raised above the nominal roll surface that results from melting and deposition of roll material vaporized by the laser beam, and
• reducing the thickness of the metal material with such textured roll in the rolling stand without substantial generation of wear debris, and without substantial transfer of metal material to the textured roll surface and retransfer to the surface of the metal material.