Steel Roll Forming Machine Line, to forming steel coils/strips along straight, longitudinal, parallel bend lines with multiple pairs of contoured rollers without changing the thickness of the material at room temperature.
Introduction of Roll Forming Machine
What is “Roll Forming Machine” ?
Roll Forming machine, also named “Roll Former“, which is a flexible and continuous process, where both the normal rules and the exceptions utilized. It have been proven several times that the roll forming machine accomplish roll forming tasks which even seemingly impossible. Although it may take a longer time and much more money. On the other hand, it also showed that plans to roll form simple shapes can create disastrous results. If the designer don’t follow the basic rules of roll forming.
Roll Forming Machine Mill
The heart of the roll forming line is the mill. The mill provides the power and support to the tooling that forms the metal. Assemble the compete roll forming line on the shaft shoulders of the roll forming mill. The variations in mill design and mills can be classified as:
Cantilevered Mill, the shafts of the mill are supported at one end only.
Duplex Mill, two cantilevered mills facing each other. So the mill can form both edges of the narrow or wide steel profiles.
Thourgh-Shaft Duplex Mill, a combination of duplex and conventional mill.
Standard (conventional) Mill, the shaft are supported at both ends.
Double high mills, also named double layer mill. have bottom and upper mills for different steel profiles
Rafted (plated) Mill, which can reduce the roll changeover time for roll forming different steel profiles.
Side by Side Mill, further reduce changeover time.
Various design of special application mills are in use by the roll forming machine industry. Maybe many of do not fit with the previous mills, but they also work properly.
Mill Components of Roll Forming Line
Mill Base, support the stands, shaft, driven, transmission, etc
Stands,in China, we always use Steel Plate, Guide Pilla, and also Iron case Torii as the stands
Shafts, where the rollers and spacer installed
Transmission, which is by electric motor, and classify as Chain, Gear, Chain&gear, Gear Box, etc
Auxiliary Rollers, also named side roll. sometime is a necessary part of the roll forming mill to ensure the profile quality
Guides Between Stands, help to jog in the strip and also prevent bucking the strips between rolls stands
Straighteners, eliminate the bended or twisted product after exiting from the last roll forming stands because of the internal stresses.
Lubrication System, used to reduce friction between the coils and rollers to avoid scratching or marring the product surface.
Cutoff Unit
Roll Forming Machine always require an unit to cutoff the coil strips of products into length. And the position can be ahead of the roll forming mill, between the roll forming stands, or after roll forming mill. Mostly used cutoff method as below:
Mechanical Cutting, which is old for newest roll forming machine.
Hydraulic Cutting, widely used, which is easy to adjust the force, stroke, speed and accurate repeatability with electronic measuring system.
Pneumatic Cutting, only used for small product, also not used now.
Rotary Cutting(Saw Cutting), which is economical, and widely used in complicated profile roll forming machine, while it is difficult to use hydraulic cutting. But it make some noise.
See more information of different position of cutoff unit.
Secondary Operations in the roll forming machine line
Straightening
The straightener is forming the product with a camber or with a bow with enough pressure to create a permanent deformation in the opposite direction of the deviation. If the deformation in the opposite direction is correct, then after springback, the product will be straight
Dies
The punching, notching, mitering and other operations have the same press structures. While design the roll forming machine, we would considering the dies design, 2 types:
Stationary die, which is solidly assembled on the mills base.
Flying Die, which can slide on narrow rails. while cutting, notching, punching, the roll forming mill is still work. we always used pneumatic or servo motor tracking design.
Punching, Perforating, Notching, and Mitering
After punching, removing a part of the material, the removed part is scrap. Punching, Perforating, Notching. And also complete other press operations in loose or tight line.
Embossing and Drawing
After embossing and drawing, a part of the coil is stretched out of its original plane without shearing.
Bending
Many products(such as doors and shelving) need to bend the ends of the section. In most case, the bend is perpendicular to the longitudinal bends made by roll forming.
Curving
Some products( like U Channel, roofing sheets, steel silo, door guider track) need to be curved after cutting into length.