Common Terms Related to Roll Forming

Common Terms Related to Roll Forming

Accumulator – Piece of equipment that holds metal coil so the roll forming process may continue uninterrupted while new material is attached to the coil.

Auxiliary Operations – Secondary processes performed in conjunction with roll forming.

Camber – A deviation from a straight line in a roll formed piece.

Coiling – Procedure in which heated flat sheet metal is transformed into spiral coils.

Cold Work – The process of deforming metal at room temperature in order to increase strength and hardness.

Drive System – The system responsible for providing the roll forming machines with power and moving the metal coils through the machines.

Ductility – The ability of metal to bend or form without fracture.

Elastic Limit – The maximum amount of stress a metal can accept without succumbing to permanent deformation.

End Flare – Deformation at the end of a roll formed part.

End Joiner – Piece of equipment that connects two coils to permit the continuance of metal coils into the roll forming machine.

Ferrous Metal – A metal in which iron makes up a significant component.

Levelers – Mechanism that maintains flatness of metal being fed into the roll forming machine.

Nonferrous Metal – A metal that does not contain iron.

Plastic Deformation – Permanent changes in the shape of a metal that occur after pushing a metal piece past its elastic limit. Deformation is accomplished through the application of stress.

Pickling – The process of cleaning steel coils in preparation for metal forming processes, such as roll forming. The coils are subjected to hydrochloric acid that removes impurities, such as rust, from the metal.

Reel Kinks – Imperfections in the metal coil.

Roll Changing – The process of changing the rolls on roll forming equipment. This is a long, costly procedure.

Slit Edges – In reference to the edge of sheet or strip metal that results from cutting to width by rotary slitters.

Springback – Deformation in a roll formed part that occurs when the roll forming process fails to stretch a part past its elastic limit.

Sweep – Deviation from a straight line in the horizontal plane measured after the part has been formed. Sweep is caused because of incorrect horizontal roll alignment and/or uneven forming pressure.

Tolerance – The acceptable variation from product specifications, such as cross-sectional dimensions.

Trimming – Removing metal scrap from a metal formed part in order to maintain consistency among metal parts.

Twist – Deformation in a roll formed part that resembles a corkscrew. Twists are caused by extreme pressure levels created during the roll forming process.

Yield Strength – The maximum stress which can be applied to a material without lasting deformation of that material.