Roll formed products are metals that have been shaped by a roll former. Roll formers are machines that can take sheets or strips of metal and bend them, creating metal angles, rings, channels, panels, trim and many other shapes. They can create shapes out of steel, aluminum, brass, zinc, zirconium and many other metals.
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Roll formed products are used in the petrochemical, construction, transportation, healthcare, consumer products, electronics, retail, material handling, storage and countless other industries. Desks and workbenches can feature roll formed edging. Industrial and institutional buildings often feature metal door trim and metal wall baseboards. Medical carts and gurneys, solar frames, gas station pumps, vending machines, rail cars, scaffolds, refrigerators, ladders, racks and shelving, escalators, conveyor systems, point of purchase displays, furniture and finished products like posts, ramps, guard rails and partitions all make use of roll formed parts. Roll forming of stock products is a fairly inexpensive, high-volume, continuous process that produces uniform results and a minimum of waste scrap material. The process can also be completely customized, allowing for the fabrication of fully custom roll formed products for use in specialized applications.
There are many processes by which a shaped metal product can be created. Extrusion, a thermoforming process, heats metals to a liquid state and forms them in a die. This can be a complicated and energy intensive process. Other processes like injection molding and peening can also be complicated and energy intensive. Roll forming is among the simplest metal shaping processes. It is also one of the most sustainable because of the minimum of waste metal it creates. A roll former, the machine that shapes metals in a roll forming process, is a long series of rollers and a cutting device. At the beginning of a roll forming process, a stock of metal, which is often coiled or otherwise stored in a way that is easily accessible, is directed into the first set of rollers. These rollers are designed to fit tightly around the contours of the stock metal. Those rollers direct the metal to the next rollers, whose configuration is slightly different. The metal, as it is forced through the rollers, is forced to take shape of each subsequent roller configuration. By the time the metal passes through the last roller, it has taken its final shape. It can then be cut and prepared for shipment to customers.
