Structural shape rolling uses profile rolling techniques where the workpiece is passed through a series of flatteners (of larger magnitude than most common rolling devices) that match the workpieces' cross-section. The most common method uses 3 rollers; the bending is controlled by varying the distance between the rollers.
Structural shapes can be rolled in different ways such as the “easy-way”, the “hard-way”, heel in/out, ball in/out, leg in/out, stem in/out, and off axis. The hard-way would be bending the workpiece in the orientation where its moment of inertia is the greatest. The easy-way is bending the workpiece along the axis with the smallest moment of inertia. For example, a piece of angle iron rolled the easy-way would be rolled along one of its flanges, while the hard-way would be along the angle itself.