For WW2 tank armour, what about the “rolling” that made the steel better than cast armour hardened armour and how… do you roll a steel plate?

Question

I’m familiar with the use of rollers to make glass panes but surely it’s not that?

In: Engineering

Answer 1

Just keep in mind that it’s not a hard and fast rule that “rolled armor” was better than “cast armor.”

Each technique has specific advantages and disadvantages. For example, while rolled steel may be “tougher” than a cast steel plate of similar thickness and manufacturing quality, it would be harder to work it into more complex shapes. And armor shape has a great deal of influence on effectiveness of said armor.

Balancing between protection, weight, ease and scale of manufacture, ease of quality control, etc. was always a challenge, and each tank represents a specific selection among all those factors.