The Benefits of a Roll Forming Line Machine
A roll forming line machine converts coil metal into contoured cross-sectional profiles. It has a number of unique features that improve efficiency and productivity. These include an integrated cut-off system that eliminates secondary cutting steps and reduces labor costs.
Look for a manufacturer that offers operator training and technical support to help you maximize production. Also, consider a supplier that carries common spare parts to minimize downtime.
Precision
A roll forming machine accomplishes fabrication by sending the metal—most often coiled steel—through a series of fixed rollers, each one bending the metal bit by bit until it achieves the desired shape. The process is highly precise, allowing manufacturers to create cross-sectional shapes with exacting uniformity. It is also capable of producing parts with significantly more complex designs than a stamping or press braking machine.
Once the final form is achieved, the metal part runs through a series of straightening dies and side rollers that eliminate any lingering twist, bow, or camber. This step is particularly important for ensuring the accuracy of the final product, and it can be executed at the same speed as the rest of the line. Finally, the finished part is cut to length by a flying cutoff press that cuts the metal without stopping the process.
The cutting process can be automated by the use of a CNC system, or it may be manually operated. In either case, the automation of the cutting process minimizes labor costs and material waste, which increases the overall efficiency of the line. Today’s advanced machines incorporate computer-aided design into their operations, allowing them to function at maximum capacity. These systems also catch imperfections in the product, further reducing downtime and costs. Moreover, the incorporation of servos into post-cut flying shears has made them more efficient and effective than ever.
Flexibility
As production runs have become shorter and changeovers more frequent, flexibility is becoming a major consideration. Unlike press formed parts, which can take hours to set up, or sheet-fed processing, which can cause material waste of 20 percent or more, a roll forming line typically requires no manual disassembly and can be ready to start making the next part within minutes.
Many companies have adapted their equipment to accommodate the lower volumes, adding electric motors that can adjust each roll setup for myriad variations of flange heights, web widths and gauges. It’s not uncommon to see these systems able roll forming line machine to run 20 different products in a shift, according to one industry expert.
A flexible system also allows for in-line ancillary processes such as cutting and punching. The finished component is then loaded onto a roller conveyor for a worker to retrieve, which cuts down on the number of touches that are required.
More advanced systems have the ability to integrate with a company’s MRP (Material Resource Planning) software and process orders electronically. This can then direct lengths, pipe roll forming machine hole patterns and other critical information directly to the roll forming machine controls. In some instances, the machine can even ink-jet mark or label the parts with an identifier that links the product to the order it came from. This kind of automation can reduce the time between order and delivery, and increase productivity.
Efficiency
When it comes to efficiency, a roll forming line can help you create length-specific formed components. This is because they can be designed to pre-cut or post-cut the metal coil – or a combination of both. The pre-cutting method cuts the steel before it enters the roll forming machine, while the post-cutting method uses a profiled shear to cut the sheet after it passes through the rollers and is shaped into a profiled part.
This type of line can also reduce the need for seams by allowing you to shape metal parts in varying lengths with one tool set. It can be configured to a range of different shapes, including U-channels and C-channels, as well as open and closed profiles. This flexibility makes it a cost-effective choice when producing components for a wide variety of applications, compared to other fabrication processes, such as stamping and stud and track machinery.
Another area of efficiency involves the amount of downtime required to perform a setup change on your roll forming machine. This can be influenced by the limits of the equipment, how well the operator can work within those limitations and the production schedule. It’s also important to consider power requirements for your machine. Harder and thicker materials require more power to deform and shape compared to thinner gauges. It’s also possible to integrate your roll forming line with a business’s MRP system to automatically control the lengths, quantities and hole patterns that are produced by the machine. This eliminates the need to manually input data into the controls, further reducing downtime.
Safety
A roll forming machine uses a highly efficient process to take long metal coils and fabricate them into exact configurations and end products. It works well with a wide range of materials, including both ferrous and nonferrous metals. For example, the metal fabricated by this equipment can be used to create drywall profiles, metal ceilings, metal furniture, tubes and pipes, rolling shutters and more.
To help ensure that a high quality product is produced, the line may be equipped with a number of punch or cut-off applications. These may include a pre-punch application that adds a hole, notch or embossment to the part, a mid-line punching application that cuts off a specific part feature during the process of roll forming or a post-cut die that trims the part down to length once it is finished running through the machine.
Some lines also have an end shear welder that joins the lead edge of the new coil to the trailing edge of the existing coil and saves time feeding the coil through the entire line. This helps eliminate damage to the coil and reduces scrap and waste.
Another safety measure is a gap or clearance inspection that makes sure the roll tooling is set correctly for the type of material being run. This is a daily or every-time-the-gauge-is-changed inspection that can prevent damage to the tooling and help ensure that you’re producing a quality product.
