Let's see the hidden costs of a roll forming machine - Formetal

Many factors affect the cost of roll forming, and all factors should be carefully considered when starting a new project. Of course, the main cost driver is the rolling tools. However, cutting costs involves more than determining the cost of designing and processing rolls, and then finding ways to cut corners.

Cost reduction also needs to consider many factors, from the quotation process to production, the entire project must consider these factors.

One would think that the first place to look for potential savings will be the number of rolling station needed to form a part. Although this is obviously an important starting point, please make sure that the work has not been "surpassed"-that is, there are not enough rolling stations to roll high-quality workpieces.

In this dilemma, you cannot usually simply add additional permissions to an existing tool set. Instead, you need to add additional passes and modify adjacent passes to make the forming process even. These hidden project costs can be avoided by ensuring that the roll profile section is equipped with a sufficient number of forming stations. These costs seem to be avoided very early.

The reality is that the number of passes is the most obvious starting point. If you need to reduce costs, it is not necessarily the best starting point. If you add one or two more passes to a set of tools that may be eliminated, you can consider them as cheap insurance for the entire plan period. Instead, you can seek savings in many other places. Here, imagination is as important as paying close attention to details.

"This is how we have always done it." How many times has this phrase been said in your workplace? When you hear it, the bell will ring and the horn will ring. When looking for ways to cut costs, you should pay the most attention to those “this is the way we have always done” field.

However, this presents another challenge when trying to change a long-standing process. Everyone must join before implementing any new procedures. "Everyone" includes management personnel, engineers, setup personnel, maintenance personnel and roll forming operators.

It is very important for everyone to participate early. Even if the installer does not accept the new concept from the beginning, at least they will have time to warm up before the tool is made. No one likes to be blinded. Don’t be afraid to try new ideas or implement new procedures, make sure to involve all affected people as soon as possible.

The best money-saving ideas usually come from continuous process improvement. A person only needs to spend time, and more importantly, spend effort to find.

The designer must consider how the design of the rolling tool affects the rolling forming process, including the setup and operation of the machine. Double roll change required. As much as possible, the operator is required to make adjustments, and some tools may be replaced at some sites and at other sites.

This complexity may increase conversion time and cause problems. Therefore, even if you may spend a lot of money on the tool, now you spend more money on the operation. In this case, it may be cheaper to make a set of roll forming system for each product in the product line.

Of course, unless these variables and other variables are evaluated at the design stage of any new project, they cannot be determined. Similarly, the more employees you participate in early, the more they know which way to go.

For each new tool requirement in the roll forming design, perform the following five steps:

1. Draw a cross-sectional view.

2. Calculate the estimated strip width.

3. Produce bending progress or "flower" patterns.

4. Arrange and design the rolling tools around the flowers.

5. Merge tool attachments.

Per my understanding, this could be the most important procedure of all, because it affects the future machine parts manufacturing, assembly, testing, or even modification. A wonderful design can make a roll forming machine without any modifications in the future. Sometimes modification cost more money and brings many troubles to the machines. Thus, paying more attention to the designing of the roll forming, is a good starting to make the following jobs run smoothly.