Roll Forming 

Several metal fabrication processes can be used to produce the sheets of metals used in appliance manufacturing, shelving and framing. However, roll forming has proved to be the most cost effective and technically superior process in the industry. It is the process in which either a metal sheet or a strip of metal is plastically deformed along a linear axis by being passed through a series of roller dies that progressively shape and contour the metal. 

Roll Forming Machines

Roll forming proves to be a superior technique as compared to metal stamping which remained a process of choice for years. The main drawback of metal stamping is its inability to produce long parts, which customers now often look for. The solar market is just one example that created demand for metal parts more than 20 feet long. But the largest stamping presses can fabricate parts only about 84 inch long.

A metal such as high strength steel can be more effectively produced with the help of a roll forming machine. Such steel is difficult to stamp because of spring-back, which implies that the material tries to return to its original shape after the forming process. Controlling spring back requires additional equipment and tooling cost. The spring-back can also interfere with a stamper’s ability to deliver high-tolerance parts. 

Roll forming can handle high-strength materials easily because of its slow forming speed made possible with specially designed roll form tooling. Some typical industries that use metal manufactured through roll forming include office furniture, electronics, construction, electrical, housing and automotive industries.  

The strength of metals used in different appliances determines their durability to a large extent. Naturally therefore it is important to take care of the basics and ensure that the best process is used to fabricate the metal used for various industrial and residential applications. Apart from being technically sound, the metal forming process also has to be cost effective.

The four processes used by the metal manufacturing industry are Extruding, Press Brake Bending, Roll Forming and Stamping. Of these, roll forming is considered the most efficient due to its ability to produce parts of any length, limited merely by the length of the coil material being fed into the line. It is the continuous metal forming process that takes a sheet, strip or coiled stock and bends it into shapes of essentially identical cross sectional profile. Roll forming is a cold rolling process wherein the metal is fed between successive pairs of rolls that increasingly shape it until the desired cross sections obtained. There is no expensive energy consumption in the rolling mills as the roll forming machines work at room temperature. Cold-rolled sheets of steel, aluminum, brass, copper, titanium and bronze can be economically fabricated with this metal forming technique. Hard and brittle sheets of metal can also be passed through the roll forming machine to form parts with sharp edged radii.

Roll forming can also integrate additional operations for metal working in a single process. These include notching, piercing, welding and embossing.

Steel produced with roll forming process is used in a variety of engineering applications that include building construction, shelving, steel framing, automotive industry, electrical and general engineering works. The smooth surface and the strength of the finished product are noticeably superior in a roll formed metal part as compared to other metal forming techniques.

Manufacturing Growth for 2011?

Metal fabricators are starting to see the light at the end of a long and dark tunnel.  After years of low and lower sales steel fabrication equipment manufacturers are starting to feel optimistic.  As reported by “The Fabricator” this new found optimism is met with a good doze of uncertainty.  Companies that manufacture large capital equipment such as roll formers, stamping presses, brake presses are all keeping a keen eye on the pulse of the nation.

Who is buying in today’s market?

Driving this recovery is the consumer and according to the Federal Reserve they haven’t come back yet.  Although he metal fabrication industries are seeing a 75% capacity it is still well below the prerecession levels.  This ‘gap’ is causing the cautionary view many equipment manufacturers have. As the economy begins to strengthen so should the need for new more efficient equipment.  

Metal Forming and Your Competitor

In order to capitalize on the upturn in the new economy companies have to innovate.  This has always been a key ingredient to the success of many companies.  So how do you stay ahead of the competitors?  This is a difficult question to answer and should always start with your customer.  Knowing them and their needs, I mean truly knowing them, will help to guide your business to success.  It’s a simple but very effective way to leap-frog the completion. 

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W beam guardrail, guard rail panel, protective fence and three-beam for highways are now manufactured with a roll forming machine. The roll former has made it easy for highway guardrail manufacturers to produce quality W beam, Profile B, C Posts, U Posts, Sigma Posts and Two-wave galvanized guardrail at a cost effective price. The roll forming equipment bends and forms various profiles in to a flat metal roll. The metal used in roll forming machines for making guardrails is corrugated sheet steel beams for guardrail. Earlier the manufacturers were using stamping or pressing process, which was neither cost effective nor labor friendly. However, a roll forming process is very labor friendly and cost effective as well.

Roll Forming Machine Manufacturers 

The roll forming machine provides great help when it comes to manufacturing corrugated beam barrier and protective mesh. The roll forming machines have opened a new window for highway guardrail manufacturers. It reduces labor cost to minimum and thus helps manufacturers save on their hard earned money. Apart from the cost benefit, the forming equipment consumes maximum corrugated sheet steel beams for guardrail and produces little or no waste. Looking at the skyrocketing steel prices, it’s is simply great if you could save costly steel from wastage. The roll forming machine also increases the overall w beam guardrail quality and the operation throughput.

There are many companies that make roll forming machines but not every roll former can produce quality protective fence or corrugated beam barrier. One should buy roll formers from an ISO certified company that uses FEA for making roll forming machines.

Inadequate lubrication can cause problems with the roll former operation and/or in the finished panel. A common problem within the roll former is the bonding (welding or fusion) of coil coated products to the roll tooling. This is time consuming to remove. Some companies have had some success by mounting SCOTCH-BRIGHTTM rolls4 on the tooling to continuously remove coating build-up or by polishing the rolls while in operation. Problems can also extend to the finished panel. Part configuration, forming issues, oil canning, twist, bow, and improper finished dimensions can all result from inadequate lubrication.

Na construção de metal para a construção de sistemas purlins telhado são usadas com freqüência e são fabricados pela formação (ou flexão) frio de aço galvanizado para Cee e Zee (ou Zed) seções. Outro nome usado para Cee e Zed (ou Zee) seções em uma construção da parede é ‘girts’. 

Montagem opções para o comum e não tão comum purlin 

Many of today’s roads or driveways intersect a highway near to the end of a bridge or other immovable, restrictive features of the highway.  To protect and shield both the end of the bridge and the embankment, a strong post W-beam guardrail curved around the corner is used.  The manufacturing of these interstate or highway guardrails is typically done best with a roll former.  Roll forming equipment is used to bend and ‘form’ the various grooves and profiles in to a flat metal roll.  Compared to other forms of metal bending such as brake pressing or stamping roll forming is much more cost effective and produces a higher quality product.  It should be noted that the terms ‘roll forming’, ‘rollformer’, ‘cold roll forming’ and ‘metal roll forming’ are all interchangeable.  When selecting a roll forming company as with any other capital equipment purchase pricing is typically a less important part of the equation.

As with many other large capital pieces of equipment roll forming machines can be manufactured from very cheap to very expensive.  So how do you know which is the right guardrail roll forming machine for you?  Well, keep in mid several key factors.

1)      How long has the roll forming company been in business?

2)      Is the roll forming machine built for long term reliability?

3)      Are the roll forming stands built to handle repeated bending of metal?

4)      Will the profiles been the same day after day year after year?

5)      Does the roll forming company use FEA (finite element analysis) when designing roll tooling?

6)      Is the roll forming company ISO certified?

These are some important questions to ask yourself before you choose a roll forming manufacturer.  Another area that is very important is how much money will you spend on re-work scrapped or return product?  Often with cheap inexpensive roll forming machines from China you will have to factor in the cost of poor quality parts.  This cost can amount to a lot of money over a short period of time.  It is usually better to start with a quality roll forming machine such as the Samco Machinery roll former.  With in a short period of time you will see how cost is no longer the only factor to use when purchasing a roll former.  Quality, durability and long term re-work costs are some of the key issues to consider. 

Many quality companies use the Samco Machinery (http://www.samco-machinery.com) roll formers when they produce steel formed products.  The output is always of a higher quality and the cost per unit production is lower then less costly poor output machines.

There are many roll forming machine manufactures around the world.  The question as to what company is the right one to produce roll formed profiles can be tough to answer.   So where do you start?  Looking at a roll forming machine for building corrugated roofing sheets must take in to consideration several key factors.  The machine durability is one of the most over looked elements in the decision making process.  Too often companies choose largely based on price rather then quality.  This often leads to roof panels that are manufactured poorly and require re-work or scrapping.  This will lead to a higher cost per panel when roll formed with a low cost machine.  The roll forming process is very precise even for the most common roll formed profiles and shapes.  The use of sheet metal to make roofing panels has long been the material of choice.  The sheet metal forming process to produce the corrugated profiles utilizes many machines in order to manufacture quality panels.  The tools and dies on these machines are an important part of the overall quality.  Also the strength of each roll tool stand is equally important in producing quality profiles over and over.  Can you imagine using small lightweight roll tooling or stands to bend sheet metal reliably?  It is obvious that you must use a strong machine built by a reputable company who has years of experience.  One such company Samco Machinery, is well known around the world for producing quality machinery for the roofing panel industry.  They also have a roll forming machine division in India to produce local equipment.  If you’re looking for a roll forming line to manufacture corrugated roofing or wall panels I would start with a leader in the market.  Companies like Samco (http://www.samco-machinery.com) manufacture custom machinery that are highly cost effective.  

Many processes utilize roll forming machinery as a simple effective way to produce metal formed products.  Repeatable profiles and low cost per unit are some of the main advantages to rollforming.  When manufacturing highway guardrails, 2-space w beam guardrails or beams for highways using a quality roll former is important in producing quality parts.  Steel highway sign posts can also be made using a roll forming machine.  Many manufacturers of highway guardrails enjoy the cost benefits of manufacturing with a roll former versus a stamping or press machine.  Roll formers reduce the labor costs while increasing the overall part quality and operation throughput.

How can you tell what roll former is a quality one?

This is often a difficult question to answer.  Many companies claim to have quality roll formers at reduced prices.  As the old saying goes ‘you get what you pay for”.  An area that is often missed when evaluating the cost of a roll former is the cost of re-work, poor quality parts and unhappy customers.  These real costs must be added in to the overall calculation used when purchasing a roll forming system.  Companies like Samco Machinery have reputations as leaders in the industry.  They are equipment to handle any application regardless of how complex or standard it is.  Years of experience and a wide range of knowledge make them a valuable source in the industry.

So when buying a guardrail roll former I would start with the experts in the field.  Look for companies like Samco Machinery for solid understanding on how to do the job at a low cost with a high quality product.