Mill stands place considerable pressure on slabs, blooms and coils to further process the material. There are two general ways of applying the force to the steel — screw and hydraulic systems.

• Screw (Incline Plane): This older method used the basic principle of the screw to adjust the space between the mill rolls. Because metal touches metal, these configurations will wear down over time and can cause quality problems.
• Hydraulic (Pancake Cylinder): This modern system uses fluid pressure to rapidly adjust the roll spacing several times per second. These minute, instantaneous adjustments allow for superior gauge tracking and higher quality products.