Page 34 - MetalForming July 2015

Rollforming
Making the Case
With the right application, this process can ease
production challenges while cutting part weight
and costs.
BY RANDY MYERS
Metal fabricators and other manufacturers have long dis- missed rollforming. Steep upfront costs, high-volume produc- tion requirements and absence from collegiate engineering curricula have made the process foreign at best, and cost-prohibitive at worst.
Instead, metalformers turn to alu- minum extrusions, press-braking and stamping, and miss out on the inline processing and economies of scale that rollforming offers.
Given the right applications, roll- forming may be the most cost-efficient production method available to met- alformers—reducing weight, simplify- ing production and cutting costs along the entire supply chain.
Slew of Benefits
A highly stable and efficient fabri- cation process, rollforming runs coiled material through a series of roll tooling,
Randy Myers is senior technical director of product development at American Roll Form Products, Painesville, OH; www.arfpcorp.com.
gradually forming it into the desired cross-section profile. The process effi- ciently produces parts of any length, fabricates light and strong custom shapes, and eliminates secondary oper- ations through inline processing.
Rollforming’s benefits include:
• Heightened efficiency—Through inline processing and automation, roll- forming consolidates multiple manu- facturing steps into one efficient oper- ation while reducing excess labor and vendors.
• High-quality results—Rollform- ing can manufacture countless shapes from ferrous and nonferrous materials, and form complex linear shapes, rounded or burr-free edges, and uni- form cross-section profiles.
• Cost reductions—Greater pro- duction efficiency and high-volume production translate to lower cost per part and economies of scale. And drop- ping the gauge decreases material, inventory and freight expenses.
How do these benefits add up? Switching to rollforming may reduce product weight by one-third, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars saved
annually. But to get the most out of roll- forming, heed the advice that follows.
Take the Time
to Simplify and Optimize
A comprehensive analysis of prod- uct design identifies where improve- ments and inefficiencies lie. A metal- former may need to fully redesign a part to optimize it for rollforming, but this upfront time and effort has long- term-payoff potential.
Before production begins, carefully evaluate assembly drawings, part geometry and mating components, and identify ways to simplify the prod- uct. Eliminate excess notches or mul- tiple bends in a part, and consider ways to reduce the need for fasteners or laser-cut components.
Designing for rollforming also pres- ents new opportunities that challenge other production methods.
Complex sections often require mul- tiple hits and several production processes to achieve a desired profile. Rollforming often eliminates much of this excess due to its ability to form complex linear shapes and perform
32 MetalForming/July 2015
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