Manufacturing Processes - Rolling And Metal Forming Process
Roll Forming Sheet Metal
Metal Rolling
Metal rolling is manufacturing process that falls under the general category of forming. It facilitates the continuous forming of bulk metal between two rotating roller tools. It is a 2 dimensional process where it is possible to create re-entrant angles in the 2D profile. It is used for the forming of any metal that is ductile at the forming temperature.
Types of Metal Rolling
- Flat Sheet Rolling, produces long continuous lengths thinning the formed material with each pass by closing the roll gap. The direction of roll can be reversed after each pass to take the material backwards and forwards through the rollers for increased process efficiency.
Foil rolling is a specialised form of flat rolling for the production of very thin sheet metal foil. Less than 200 micrometers - Shaped Rolling, a flat strip or slab of metal is passed through a series of rollers where for each stage the shape is accentuated towards the final desired finished shape.
- Transverse Rolling, uses circular wedge shape rollers to produce a relief in a bar to the required width and diameter. This is achieved in one revolution of the rollers with the relief being formed gradually as it follows the shape of the wedge.
The cycle time for this process is dependent on the length of the product but production rates are considered to be rapid.
Most rolling production is considered to be non-dedicated but shaped and transverse rolling does require dedicated rolling tools which in turn causes longer setting up times. The size and tonnage required for the rolling process also means that machines and rolls are expensive. Cold rolling requires more tonnage than hot rolling in equivalent sizes.
The quality of the finished product is generally good but surface texture will deteriorate with increasing temperature. So cold rolling produces a higher quality finish than hot rolling.
Hot rolling is defined as being when the metal is above its recrystallisation temperature.
Roll Forming
A variant of rolling is a process called roll forming, this is used extensively in the production of sheet metal components and is similar in nature to 'shaped forming' in that it produces a required shape in stages from a flat sheet metal strip.
Ref: Wikipedia 'Roll forming is a continuous bending operation in which a long strip of metal (typically coiled steel) 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. Roll forming is ideal for producing parts with long lengths or in large quantities.'
Cold Forming of Sheet Metal Components
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