Thread rolling is a metal rolling process used extensively in the manufacturing industry to produce screws, bolts, and other fasteners. Thread rolling is a preferred method for producing strong, smooth, precise, and uniform external thread forms. Thread rolling is different from other types of threading processes like cutting, grinding, and chasing. A common thread rolling process, used in industry to manufacture threaded parts, involves forming the threads into the metal of a blank by a pressing and rolling action between two dies. The die surfaces hold the shape and the force of the action forms the threads into the material. A similar metal forming process has been developed for the production of gears.

Thread rolling is a cold forging process that can be performed on any ductile metal. The forming process can be used to produce other special forms, such as knurls. For the best quality threads, the process is performed on precision centerless ground blanks. The blank diameter of a rolled thread is at the pitch diameter, a theoretical point between the major diameter and minor diameter.

Thread Rolling produces rolled threads on a wide variety of parts. Often, rolled threads are required by design because of their superior tensile, shear, and fatigue strength. Other processes remove material to produce the thread form, but thread rolling displaces the material with hardened steel dies. These dies typically have a hardness between a range of Rc58-Rc63 and there is a specific set of dies for each thread size and each thread form. The dies have the reverse for the finished thread.