People who are not familiar with cold roll forming usually need some education on the functions and limitations of the machine, even those who are often engaged in sheet metal forming work. Skilled cold roll forming engineers are enviable, and there is a reason-it is complicated.

If you want to make your project off to a good start, you probably should know…what can roll forming machines handle? Most people know that material thickness is an important factor, but this is just the beginning.

For those who don’t know anything about the machines they rely heavily on, consider this set of roll forming design guidelines.

Roll forming design guide: What can the machine handle?

In the roll forming process, a metal strip is fed through a series of paired roll dies, which are mounted on the shaft of the forming stand of the rolling mill. If the component to be produced requires other functions (holes, slots, cutouts, lugs, etc.), the manufacturer needs a punch or other equipment. Some features are better introduced before molding, while others can be processed after molding.

If the component is produced from crimped strip (as opposed to blank or pre-cut strip), the roll forming line will usually include a cutting press or saw. The ability of the roll forming line (coil feeder and pre-punching equipment, roll forming machine and cutting equipment) to handle part design depends on many factors. If you only look at the outline (cross-section) of the component design, the key factors include:

Material thickness

Material type

Outline size

Configuration file complexity

Let us look at some typical design features of roll forming machines. The fit between the component design and the ability of the roll forming machine (or rolling mill) to form components is related to the following characteristics:

Roller diameter

Roller spacing (especially vertical)

Number of forming stations

Cut off equipment

1. Material thickness

Generally speaking, as the thickness of the material increases, the rolling mill requires a larger roll diameter.

That is, if the curvature of the profile is small or particularly narrow, the diameter of the shaft will not have to be as large as normally required.

2. Material type

Will metal alloys affect your rolling thickness limit? you bet

The performance of a roll forming machine is usually measured by its performance on low carbon steel with relatively low yield strength. Therefore, generally, as the yield strength of the material increases, the complexity of the contour that can be handled by a particular machine decreases.

Materials with higher yield strength and more resilience (stainless steel, structural steel, HSLA steel, etc.) require more processing. Materials with low yield strength and low resilience (red metals such as aluminum, bronze, brass, and copper) tend to require less work.

Not only that, the molding machine must have the tonnage (force) required to cut the part at the end of the production line, which is also very important. To ensure success, you need to know the yield strength range of the material. A strip of stainless steel can withstand twice the force of mild steel of the same length, so don’t ignore this when talking to potential suppliers.

3. Component size

The size of a component also plays a role in determining whether it can run on a given roll production line. This will vary from contractor to contractor, so don’t assume that your components are versatile.

Before forming, the width of the metal strip required to produce the profile is an important factor. If the strip width is narrower than the rolling space of the shaft, the profile is a candidate for operation on the production line.

Before and after the contour is formed, the final height of the contour needs to be slightly smaller than the vertical roll axis spacing. Otherwise, the factory will not be able to successfully run your personal data. And don’t forget that as the contour shape becomes higher, the number of forming stations required to produce the part will increase.

4. How complex is the configuration file?

The more bending, the greater the force.

The complexity of the component cross-section is another consideration in combining the production capacity of the rolling mill with the production of specific components.

Generally, the more the number of bending of the profile, the more severe these bending angles, the more forming stations are required.

The number of bends in the component will ultimately determine your roll forming mold design and related costs.

Results may vary

The overall concept is that the ability to roll metal actually depends on the amount of work required by each station, which depends on the relationship between material thickness + metal type + part shape + part size and the physical composition of the rolling mill.

Of course, not every customer knows every detail of how the rolling company does things. However, it is important to ensure that your rolling partner has the machine capabilities to

perform the required functions.

Certain cold-formed forming companies specialize in the production of heavy objects. Some companies can only handle things that are smaller, lighter and faster. Other companies are involved.

Some machines are only set up to generate very specific configuration files. Some companies limit themselves to the use of half-inch-thick rolled steel sheets for structural roll forming. Some companies insist on using ultra-thin and ultra-wide profile roof panels.

Therefore, when you choose a roll forming partner, everything depends on your goals and the equipment available.