Monday, 27 August 2012

4 Areas of Investigation Prior to Selecting Plate Rollers

By Ian MacOlive


Today's modern plate rollers have a tremendous amount of technology wrapped up in them. Those that are not familiar with how plate or sheet metals are rolled will have a lot of homework to do to get up to speed to be able to make an informed decision on the size and type of plate rolling machinery to purchase. Areas that need investigation, even for the well informed, will include looking at the following

The type of material(s) that they expect to bend, the yield strength of the material(s), the lengths, material thicknesses, and the diameters of the finished part(s) that they wish to produce

The type of plate roller needed to produce a finished part of acceptable quality and capable of inducing the forces necessary to bend the longest, thickest, or strongest sheet or plate efficiently and effectively

The machines "static" and "dynamic" capabilities

Determine the allowable "unbent flat" that can be tolerated.

Plate rolling machinery that cannot create enough force to exceed the materials yield strength will simply not be able to get the job done. This is why a thorough review of all of the materials that you want to be able to bend is a critical factor.

The type of plate rolling machinery that you select makes a difference as well. Knowing the capabilities of the following type of equipment is important

3 Roll Initial Pinch 3 Roll Double Pinch 4 Roll Double Pinch 3 Roll Variable with Translating Geometry 3 Roll Pyramid 2 Roll Vertical Rolls

Generally speaking, 4 Roll Double Pinch plate rollers are often designed for heavier duty processing than their 3 Roll Initial Pinch counterparts. The bending process in 3 Roll Initial Pinch plate rollers begins when the flat material is "pinched" between two rollers while a third roller or "bending roller" contacts the sheet and applies pressure. The rollers are then activated and this rolling process will bend the material to a given radius.

4 Roll Double Pinch plate rollers employ an extra roller that constantly "pinches" the sheet or plate material during the process of rolling the material. One significant advantage of 4 Roll machines over 3 Roll machines is that the 4 Roll machines often do not require that the material be pre-bent before processing. 4 Roll machines also have a slight advantage in shorter overall material processing cycle times.

In reference to a plate rollers static and dynamic rating, the static portion occurs at the very beginning when the material is "pinched" to form the leading edge. It is important to know that plate rolling machinery will always bend thicker material in the dynamic state that it still in the static state.

Leaving an "unbent flat" on the material is one of the unavoidable outcomes of plate rolling machinery and this aspect, although controllable to a certain extent, must be taken into consideration. The following key areas should be covered so one can begin to make an informed decision

The material thicknesses for the sheets or plates expected to be rolled

Sheet or plate widths and lengths The finished rolled cylinder diameter required Machine geometry The size of the top roll The experience and skill levels of the machine operator

The above is just a thumb-nail sketch of some of the primary concerns that one should start looking into before making a significant investment in capital intensive plate rolling machinery. Fortunately most plate rolling machinery makers have highly capable technicians and sales people that can assist you in making your decision. It is important to know going into this process of determining the right size and type of plate rolling machinery needed that you get familiar with some of the important questions to ask and have a few of the details at your disposal to help them to help you




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