Steel Roll Forming Machine – How It Works
Steel roll forming machine are used to create complex parts from sheet metal. Find out how they work in this article!
Roll forming machines use a series of rolls that press against each other to form sheets of metal into intricate shapes. This process allows for the creation of many different types of products, including car bumpers, furniture, and even airplane wings.
Benefits of Using Steel Roll Forming Machines.
There are several benefits to using steel roll forming machines. First, these machines are very versatile, allowing them to produce a wide variety of products. They also allow for quick production times, as well as high quality results. Finally, they are relatively inexpensive compared to other methods of manufacturing.
How Roll Forming Machines Work
A roll forming machine (or metal forming machine) fabricates specific configurations out of long strips of metal, most commonly coiled steel. In most applications, the required cross-section profile of the piece is specifically designed for the machine to bend the metal as necessary. Other than roll forming, these machines perform a number of metalworking duties, including material cutting and roll punching.
The basic roll forming machine has a line that can be separated into four major parts. The first part is the entry section, where the material is loaded. The material is usually inserted in sheet form or fed from a continuous coil. The next section, the station rollers, is where the actual roll forming takes place, where the stations are located, and where the metal shapes as it makes its way through the process. Station rollers not only shape the metal, but are the main driving force of the machine.
In metalworking, rolling is a metal forming process in which metal stock is passed through one or more pairs of rolls to reduce the thickness, to make the thickness uniform, and/or to impart a desired mechanical property.
The concept is similar to the rolling of dough. Rolling is classified according to the temperature of the metal rolled. If the temperature of the metal is above its recrystallization temperature, then the process is known as hot rolling.
If the temperature of the metal is below its recrystallization temperature, the process is known as cold rolling. In terms of usage, hot rolling processes more tonnage than any other manufacturing process, and cold rolling processes the most tonnage out of all cold working processes.
Roll stands holding pairs of rolls are grouped together into rolling mills that can quickly process metal, typically steel, into products such as structural steel (I-beams, angle stock, channel stock), bar stock, and rails. Most steel mills have rolling mill divisions that convert the semi-finished casting products into finished products.
Roll Forming Machine Tolerances
Dimensional variation of a part created through roll forming is based on the type of material used, the roll forming equipment, and the actual application. Tolerances can be influenced by varying metal thickness or width, material springback during production, the quality and wear of the tooling, actual machine condition, and the experience level of the operator.
There are many types of rolling processes, including ring rolling, roll bending, roll forming, profile rolling, and controlled rolling.