The plate roller, one of the oldest technologies in metal fabrication, isn’t like a typical mature technology. Although some plate bending machine iterations are more common than others, many kinds of plate rollers have made their way to shop floors.
Owing to the vast models and types of plate bending machines in the market, sometimes it can be daunting to know where to begin when buying a machine that best fits your bending application needs. While cost considerations are essential when deciding the type of plant rolling machine you’ll purchase, you must also pay attention to many other things.
For example, the following 4 important parameters about the performance of the plate bending machine are the basic knowledge that must be known before you buy the plate bending machine.
Bending Length
The overall rolling capacity is determined by the physical length of the rolls which unlike other specifications cannot be “cheated” when purchasing a plate roll make sure you are sizing the roll length for the maximum width of the material you will be rolling understanding that the longer the rolls the larger the roll diameter has to be in order to maintain strength under rolling pressure. The adverse reflection of that is the larger the diameter you will need to be rolling.
Minimum Diameter
The minimum diameter is the smallest diameter you desire to roll your material into. Use the factors 1.5X the top roll diameter for easy, no problem, rolling in one pass to achieve this goal. 1.3X the top roll diameter can be achieved with multiple passes or material at a shorter length than the full-width capacity of the pallet roll. 1.1X the diameter of the top roll is also achievable in softer materials less than the full width of the rolls AND utilizing a multipass technique.
Bending Capacity: Bending Capacity on a plate roll is the capacity at full width the machine is capable. Rated in mild steel, a ¼” X 10’ plate roll is capable of bending ¼” thick mild steel in a 10’ width to 1.5X the top roll diameter in a single pass.
Pre-Bending Capacity
Pre-Bend is the initial bend a plate roll operator must make before actually rolling the material. The process involves pinching the material firmly between two of the rolls and then using the side or lateral roll to force the material into an initial bend before rolling commences. This process must be repeated on each end of the plate being rolled to avoid large flattened sections at the mating ends of the cylinder. Pre-Bend capacity is always less than that of the rated bending capacity so it is important to ensure the rolling system you are looking at can properly pre-bend the material you are working with.
Yield Point
The yield point is the strength of the material you are rolling, or better put, the strength of resistance to bending that the material has. The harder the material the higher the yield point and the larger/stronger the plate roll must be to roll the material. Yield points vary greatly from Aluminum to Stainless and other materials in between. Make sure you know the Yield strength of your material as plate rolls are all offered on mild steel (36,000 PSI) yield strength rating.