Forming Machine, Bending, Cutting, Welding, and Finishing
A Forming Machine, a type of fabrication machinery, sends metal (typically coiled steel) through a series of fixed rollers that both guide and bend the material. This process of bending metal bit by bit with each successive set of roller dies allows manufacturers to make unique, consistent-profile parts in high volume and at very low cost.
Bending
Bending is the process of forming V-shapes or U-shapes along a straight axis in ductile metals like sheet metal. It’s typically accomplished using automated lines that include press brakes and panel benders, but can also be done manually.
A good bending strategy includes an inside radius equal to the material thickness. It’s also recommended to avoid designing features, such as holes or slots, that are too close to a bend. Instead, design them at a distance that’s at least three times the bending radius.
Another bending option is called “joggle bending,” which combines a single offset bend into one larger s-shaped bend. This reduces the bending force required and can help with alignment issues.
When bending hard materials, it’s best to keep the neutral axis parallel to the rolling direction to prevent fracture. The neutral axis is the location that experiences neither tension nor compression forces. To avoid springback, the outside and inside lengths of a part should be within the same range. Also, it’s important to choose a neutral axis that’s far from a hole to prevent hole deformation.
Forming
Roll forming equipment carries out a highly efficient process that fabricates specific configurations of long metal strips, most commonly coiled steel. It works by sending the material, which is usually already in sheet form, through a series of fixed rollers that incrementally bend it bit by bit. This enables manufacturers to shape metal in a variety of different cross-section profiles, while also minimizing the amount of bending pressure that is required.
Once the metal has been shaped, it enters a cut off press to be cut to length. Depending on the size of the end product, other in-line functions can include punching and welding.
Metal forming is a severe deformation process with a high surface area-to-volume ratio. It is used for a number of applications, including metal fabrication and support or frames in construction. There are two main processes – bulk forming Forming Machine and sheet forming. Bulk forming is classified as rolling, forging and extrusion while sheet forming includes bending, deep drawing and shearing. Sheet forming produces pump parts, small gears, valve parts and spanners among others.
Cutting
Cutting is the process that trims metal down to its final length and dimensions. It can include roughing cuts, which remove a lot of material quickly to create a shape close to the desired form, and finishing cuts, which fine-tune the part for tolerances, dimensions, and surface finish.
A shear is a powerful machine that uses hydraulic or mechanical force to lower a cutting blade and cut the metal into straight lines. Shearing is an effective forming method because it produces clean, consistent cuts and reduces waste.
A C-Purlin roll forming machine is used in the construction industry to manufacture galvanized steel truss frames, which are then used in the roofing, production, and manufacturing industries to provide structural support for buildings. These specialized machines are capable of running multiple profiles on the same line and are ideal for producing large quantities of aesthetically pleasing custom parts. They also produce a high quality of steel, making them an economical choice for many applications. They are equipped with a PLC, which is a programmable logic controller that monitors the machine and allows it to make adjustments without human intervention.
Welding
Welding is a joining process in which metals or sometimes plastics are heated, melted and mixed to produce a joint with properties similar to those of the materials being joined. It uses a heat source that can be electric arc, flame, pressure or friction. Shielding is also used to protect the weld from oxygen in the air, which can make it brittle.
The welding process involves adding a filler metal, which can be the same or different as the base material. This process differs from brazing and soldering, which do not melt the base metal. Welding is a high-heat process that can cause stress in the metal, so it’s important to choose a proper technique and carefully evaluate the resulting weldment for quality.
The welded product is then ready to go into the next stage of production. It’s fed into rollers that bend the metal more and more, forming it into a more contoured design. The finished part emerges from the machine and onto a conveyor to be retrieved by a worker for further processing.
Finishing
Metal finishing is an essential stage in the fabrication process. It ensures that the Forming Machine factory finished product is resilient and has an appealing appearance. There are many different finishing processes and machines, and the type of workpiece to be finished has a big impact on which process is used. There are also several factors that need to be taken into account when selecting a machine and finishing process, including the metal type, the budget, and time constraints.
The tumbling process is an economical choice for removing small burrs and metal points from workpieces. This technique involves inserting components in a box together with abrasive particles and vibrating the machine. This extracts the abrasion from the workpiece and leaves it with a smooth surface that is easy to paint or coat.
The PHI tube end-finishing machine models 2C, 2CP, and 2CPV are ideal for preparing pipe or tubing ends with flares and bead, as well as deburring them. They also offer a tight radius option that meets MS33584 and SAE AS 5330 specifications for tubes and pipes with a diameter of up to 3 inches.
