Almost any metal can be laminated as long as the material has properties that allow it to tolerate roller forming tools without damage. Punching is used exclusively for shorter parts. Some product manufacturers handle punching in-house because it can be highly automated and requires less operational knowledge than profiling. Whether you`ve been studying your options for a while or have no idea what profiling is, the following should give you a solid understanding of how it compares to other metalmaking processes. The number of folds in your component ultimately determines the design of your roller forming tool – and the associated costs. Let`s look at some of the typical design features of a roller forming machine. The fit between the component design and the ability of a roller forming machine (or milling machine) to shape your component is related to these properties: In the forming process, a coil or individual long strips are guided through a roll forming line that converts the flat sheet into a profiled cross-section profile. The unique aspect of this approach is the use of successive forming stations, each of which pushes the metal to the desired shape. Based on the target profile, a computer calculates the optimal placement and shape of the rollers for maximum efficiency and designs the rail. The more advanced the desired shape, the more rollers the material passes. The roller forming line can bend the metal, form metal into tubes, create metal structures, and drill the metal with holes during the process. Profiling is a continuous process in which sheets are converted into a technical form using successive sets of paired rolls, each making only incremental shape changes.
The sum of these small shape changes is a complex profile. In general, roller forming lines can operate between 5 and 500 feet per minute (1.5 to 152.4 m/min) or more, depending on the application. In some cases, the limiting factor is punching or cutting applications. National Material Company supplies steel to the roller forming industry and offers a variety of material types and grade options for a variety of profiling processes, including tubers. NMC offers a wide range of steel offerings, including: The time during which a product takes shape can be represented by a simple function: t = (L + n ⋅ d) / V, where L is the length of the part to be formed, n is the number of forming supports, d is the distance between the supports and V is the speed of the strip through the rollers. [3] The capabilities of roller forming machines are generally measured by their performance in unstructured steel, which has a relatively low yield strength. Thus, as the yield strength of the material increases, the complexity of the profile that a particular machine can process usually decreases. Given the myriad types of sheet metal parts that can be formed into rolls, the process is suitable for most parts and products made by bending sheet metal. This process meets the need for mass-produced interchangeable parts that are manufactured with a high degree of precision. Roll-shaped profiles may have advantages over extrusions of similar shapes. Laminated parts can be much lighter, with thinner walls possible than in the extrusion process, and stronger because they have been hardened in the cold state.
Parts can be made with a finish or already painted. In addition, the roller forming process is faster and consumes less energy than extrusion. [1] [2] Normally, as the thickness of the material increases, you need a larger roller shaft diameter for the mill. For example, Dahlstrom can form material thicknesses from 0.012 ” to 0.200 “, using mills with rolling shaft diameters from 1,500 ” to 2,563 “. Roller forming lines can be configured with multiple configurations to punch and cut parts in continuous operation. To cut a part to length, the lines can be configured to use a pre-cut die in which a single blank passes through the rolling mill or a post-cut mold where the profile is cut after the rolling molding process. Features can be added in the form of a hole, notch, embossing or shear by punching into a roller forming line. These part characteristics can be performed in a pre-punching application (before the start of profiling), in a mid-line punching application (in the middle of a rolling/roll rolling line forming process), or a post-punching application (after profiling). Some roller forming lines contain only one of the punching or cutting applications above, others contain some or all of the applications on a single line. The roller forming process facilitates the production of lighter steel parts compared to other forming processes, as the wall thickness can be aligned with the structural requirements of the component. Parts can be laminated even if a surface or paint has been applied. While hot forming can produce equally complex profiles, profiling is a process at room temperature.
In this way, it avoids the risk of distortion associated with hot forming and is at the same time more energy efficient. Profiling, also called profiling or profiling, is a type of rolling in which a long strip of sheet metal (usually coiled steel) is continuously bent into a desired cross-section. The belt passes through sets of rollers mounted on successive scaffolding, each assembly making only an incremental part of the turn until the desired cross-section (profile) is reached. Profiling is ideal for the production of constant profile parts with long lengths and in large quantities. The best way to determine if profiling is the best option is to consult a roller forming supplier with experience in your industry. You can also check out the free e-book below to start designing a part for the roller forming process: in this metal forming process, a part is tightened between the punch and the die. Intense pressure forms the final form. Profiling is one of the simplest manufacturing processes. It usually begins with a large coil of sheet metal, between 1 inch (2.5 cm) and 20 inches (51 cm) wide and 0.004 inch (0.10 mm) and 0.125 inch (3.2 mm) thick, which is transported on a dispenser. The belt is passed through an input guide to properly align the material as it passes through the grinder rollers, with each set of rollers forming a fold until the material reaches the desired shape.
Roller sets are usually mounted on top of each other on a pair of horizontal parallel shafts supported by one or more supports. Side rollers and cluster rolls can also be used to ensure greater accuracy and flexibility and limit the load on the material. The strips can be cut to the length in front of a rolling mill, between the rolling mills or at the end of the roll forming line. Of course, it`s not up to the customer to know all the details about how roller forming companies do their job. However, it is important to make sure that your roller forming partner has the machine`s ability to do what you need. Not only that, but it is also important that the forming machine has the tonnage (force) needed to cut your part at the end of the line. To ensure success, you need to know the range of the yield strength of the material. A stainless steel strip can absorb twice as much force as the same length of mild steel, so don`t overlook that when talking to potential suppliers. With profiling, almost all types of sheet metal can be formed. The process allows for tight tolerances and repeatability, making it ideal for mass production of sheet metal-based components. The series of roller forming stations allows the continuous production of identical components and offers significant economies of scale for large production series.
Molding differs from profiling in that it is best suited for low-volume batches. From a qualitative point of view, it is also distinguished by the fact that it produces parts with high porosity. Depending on your application, this is either a very good thing or a pending disaster. Extrusion depends more on secondary processes than on profiling. In addition, before secondary operations can take place, extruded parts must undergo an additional aging process in an oven. Profiling costs are relatively low. When calculating process costs, elements such as installation time, equipment and tool costs, loading/unloading time, direct labor rate, general cost rate, and depreciation of equipment and tools should be taken into account. Security is also a bit of an issue in this process.
The main hazards to consider are the handling of moving parts (up to 800 feet per minute (240 m/min)), high-pressure rollers or sharp, sheared metal edges. [3] Therefore, roller forming applications are everywhere. Some of its applications may be familiar to you, others less so: like any other metal manufacturing process, profiling has an ideal point. Cases in which you choose a roller forming company usually fall into these categories: there are roller forming machines available that produce shapes of different sizes and thicknesses of materials with the same rollers. Size fluctuations are achieved by making the distances between the rollers variable through manual adjustment or computer-controlled controls, which allows for quick change. .