Metal rollforming might not be as simple as you may think; machines can come in a variety of sizes, product outputs, uses, speeds, and more. Before you buy, make sure you’re educated on the background and importance of metal rollforming in today’s industry.
Whether you notice it or not, products made using the process of metal rollforming are everywhere. Items could include something as visible as metal roofing or garage doors, or products working behind the scenes, like pipes, window frames, and countless others.
However, how much do you know about the equipment used in metal rollforming and everything it can produce?
With over 25 years fabricating and producing portable metal rollforming equipment, New Tech Machinery knows the importance of education on how metal rollforming began and why it’s still so important to this day, especially if you work in the metal fabrication industry.
In this article, expect to learn:
- What is metal rollforming?
- The importance of metal rollforming
- Common rollforming machines and products
- Common parts of a rollformer
What is Metal Rollforming?
So, what exactly is metal rollforming? We’re glad you asked.
According to the Metal Construction Association (MCA), rollforming is defined as:
“A continuous bending operation in which a strip of metal, typically coiled steel or aluminum, is passed through consecutive sets of rolls, or stands, each performing only an incremental part of the bend until the desired cross-section profile is obtained. Portable roll forming is ideal for producing parts with long lengths or in large quantities and are designed so they can be moved easily to various locations or job sites.”
In other words, it’s the process of feeding metal, whether it’s finished, coiled, flat, or otherwise, through a series of rollers where each roller station further manipulates the piece of metal into the desired shape.
Origins of Metal Rollforming
Metal rollforming has existed for thousands of years. In fact, according to LTC Roll & Engineering, the concept of rollforming started as early as 600 B.C. This archaic rollforming typically involved hammering ductile metals found in the earth, including copper and gold, with hard objects until they were flattened or formed into a shape.
More advanced forms of rollforming developed over the following centuries. One of the earliest known designs of a more modern rollformer is attributed to Leonardo da Vinci in a 1480 sketch of a “rolling mill” depicting a material passing through cylindrical rollers to be flattened. The first actual industrial rollforming/metal working plant on record launched in the early 1600s in the United Kingdom.
For more history on the origins of metal rollforming, check out Metalworking World Magazine’s article.
After its inception, metal rollforming has experienced considerable growth and expansion over the years, which has led to an increase in the demand and use as well. Plus, with new computers and technological advances developed every single day, it’s expected that metal fabrication and rollforming will continue to grow and adapt to consumers’ needs in the years ahead.
Industries Using Metal Rollforming
One of the best parts of metal rollforming is its ability for use in many different industries and sectors, such as:
- Automotive
- Architectural
- Construction
- Industrial
- Agricultural
- Aeronautics
- Technology
- Other general metal fabrication sectors
The Importance of Rollforming Equipment
To get a better idea of the importance of rollforming equipment and machinery, think about what the workforce would be doing if metal rollforming machinery didn’t exist.
Instead of machines producing and rolling thousands of pounds of metal per day, humans would have to put forth significant extra labor using press brakes, folders, and other equipment to make metal products. Not only does this increase manual labor, but it would also severely decrease the productivity and output of products. It would also limit any long-length or complicated rolling processes, such as curving and larger indentations in the metal, as it would be tough and time-consuming to do these methods by hand.
