jsreric roll forming machine

Since the turn of the 20th century -- or perhaps much earlier -- roll forming has been used to quickly and cost-effectively produce metal parts for many industries.

One clutch roll forming advantage is that it's a highly repeatable metal fabrication process. The machine pulls a coiled strip through a sequence of roll dies, gradually manipulating the metal into your desired cross-sectional shape. Because of the speed of the process, automakers and many other industries specify roll forming for their high-volume projects.

But there's always room for improvement, right? If you learn how to cut corners without sacrificing quality -- or work with a supplier who can do so for you -- roll forming can be the most cost-effective methods of shaping metal in existence.

ROLL FORMING ADVANTAGES IN EFFICIENCY VS. PRESS BRAKING, STAMPING, & MORE
Unlike turret punching or press braking, roll forming offers the advantage of combining multiple operations in the formation of a single part. This time-saving capability eliminates the need for multiple stations or moving materials across the floor, decreasing production time and labor costs.

Consider roll forming if you need mass production of:

Complex, linear shapes with multiple bends
Parts that require finish protection
Channels (C, J, box, hat)
Angles
The roll forming process allows for in-line punching features such as:

Holes
Slots
Notches
Embossing
While other manufacturing processes struggle to impart these features efficiently, with roll forming they're old hat. So if you're looking to streamline your component fabrication and you're not using roll forming ... now is the time to consider it. Designing these elements into custom tooling eliminates slow, expensive secondary operations.

If you're looking at roll forming vs. stamping, press braking, or extrusions on a case-by-case basis for your projects, assess your order size. Roll form tooling costs may not be money well spent if you're annual volume is below 10,000 linear ft. per year -- but you could say the same about casting and stamping.

At a multi-step job shop, your manufacturer has to:

Cut the work piece to-size
Move it to a stamping press or laser cutter
Move it to a brake press, set the tools, and bend your part into shape
All these steps increase the opportunity to produce considerable scrap waste. This is NOT the case with roll forming... where the scrap rate is only 1-3% of the raw material allocation.

CONSIDER THESE ROLL FORMING DESIGN TWEAKS
Process is one way to streamline manufacturing costs. Design is another. Use these tried-and-true roll forming design guidelines to bring down expenses:

Tolerances
Remember, the #1 rule of tolerances for affordability and efficiency is to make them as loose as you can without sacrificing quality and functionality.

Avoid tight corners less than 1.5x the material thickness. These cause tools to wear down and break at a higher rate, and could even burn out a low-horsepower roll forming machine. Tight corners can also cause stress cracking in harder roll forming materials.

Complexity of Shape
The complexity of the profile and amount of punching required will determine how expensive your tools will be and how fast your component can be produced.

Profile height may also add to tooling costs, as taller profiles need roll dies with larger diameters. This of course jacks up the initial price of the tools.

Features
You actually gain some efficiency back by adding several easily repeatable features in-line. If your part is going to spend time on a roll forming production line, you might as well take full advantage, right?

Material
Is there a specific reason you picked that material and grade? Is that material directly tied to the functionality of your part? A thin, inexpensive material (like thin carbon steel) can take up 40-50% of your total cost. A heavy and/or expensive material (i.e. copper, bronze, stainless steel) can account for up to 80% of your total cost. Don't request pricey materials that go far beyond your needs.

Using common metals that are easy to obtain is a good start to conserving material cost.

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