In modern roll forming and tube mills, profits and output are inextricably tied to machine run time and efficiency. The more hours that your roll forming machines are able to perform at high speeds and peak performance, the more product you're able to move out the door. However, certain machine setups are more suited for optimal productivity than others because they are continuously run instead of creating product in intervals. This is why continuous roll forming, and the equipment needed to use it, can make such a significant difference in your operation's efficiency. In this post, we'll explain how continuous run tooling and dies improve roll forming efficiency and benefit your production process.
Continuous Roll Forming vs. Brake Forming
The difference between today's continuous roll forming tooling and dies and old-fashioned brake forming is run time. One one hand, during brake forming, the sheet metal is formed along a straight axis one bend at a time. This slows down the metal forming process and also makes maintaining accuracy incredibly difficult. Press brake forming generally uses progressive die and tooling to stamp the sheet metal using a series of stamping stations to simultaneously punch features into a piece of metal in set increments. However, these processes are all separate steps that can only be performed in intervals and not continuously.
However, continuous roll forming produces metal parts and features in an ongoing motion. The continuous motion of a roll former utilizing continuous run tooling and dies offers a more efficient metal forming process by performing a multi-step job all at once. This type of continuous operation leads to a variety of benefits for the fabricator, including time savings and higher quality output.
The Benefits of Continuous Run Tooling and Dies
With the right tooling for continuous roll forming, you also lower your part cost because multiple parts of the forming processes are carried out simultaneously, meaning you can put out more product in the same amount of run time, thanks to the continuous motion and accuracy of the built-in tooling and dies.
Having the proper auxiliary system as well as tooling, including presses, dies, and measuring systems, assures that your line is more profitable by keeping run time up. You can create your desired cross sections on one line with a constant profile and high quality, especially when dealing with high quantities of product. By eliminating steps in the metal forming process with continues run tooling and dies, you can form parts faster, safer, and for less expense than with incremented bending and punching processes.