TPT May 2011

T UBE M ILLS & R OLL F ORMING M ACHINES

If a one-man band were a piece of precision machinery, it would be a roll former. The roll forming

process in a state-of-the-art tube mill not only incorporates the best of what stamping, extrusion and press brake bending deliver: it also accommodates so-called secondary operations so smoothly as to obscure the distinction. Welding. Hole punching. Embossing. Trimming to length. The roll former folds them all in. It does so while producing high-toleranced parts in long lengths and high volumes; continuously; without missing a beat.

This is a considerable accomplishment ― one to which the kinds of products and services reviewed here make an important contribution.

Photo: Taiyuan Heavy Industry Co Ltd