Custom roll forming is a metal shaping service offered to customers who have need of specially-designed roll formed products. Companies that offer roll forming services usually manufacture standard metal shapes and products and stock them in advance of customer purchase. This model works for roll formed products like standard metal trim or angle iron. However, in many cases a stock product is not appropriate for specialized applications.
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In specialized application cases, a product that has been custom-made is likely to be necessary, and Custom Roll Forming is the way to get it done. The automotive, medical technology, information technology, defense contracting, healthcare, construction and many other industries all make use of roll formed products, and in many cases operations within these industries require access to specialized products and services. Custom roll forming companies allow their clients access to unusual metal products in large quantities. Roll forming is a modular process, which means that a roll former can be reset many times to accommodate design projects for metal products of different shapes and sizes. One of the advantages of using roll forming to create custom metal shapes is the regularity with which it can create them. However, a single roll former can only create one metal shape at a time. If a roll former is required to create a new shape after a production run is finished, it must be completely reset; this can be time consuming and expensive.
The custom roll forming process is similar to manufacturing standard shapes and parts, but the design is often created by both the customer and roll forming engineers. After a design is finished, it is downloaded into software, which controls the roll forming machine by computer simulation. Roll formers are machines that feature a long sequence of rollers that shape pieces of metal. The machines used to make the custom parts must be able to handle metal sheets, rolls and coils with different thicknesses, textures and dimensions. For each different design, the rollers must adjust to the precise part specifications. Punching, stamping, drilling, welding and trimming can be integrated into the process, which can reduce the need for expensive post-processing operations. Roll forming is an ideal manufacturing process for producing parts with complex profiles. It is a cold forming process, since the metal is not heated above its softening point. This means the products will become more rigid and strong after forming. When the shape has been formed, it may be cut to any length, and size limits are often defined only by shipping and transportation concerns.