A Crash Course in Rib Rollers

By Cass Jacoby, RCS Reporter. 

What are rib rollers and what makes them different from a panel profile? Read on and find out! 

Learning about rib rollers, their uses in metal roofing and which type of rib rollers are available with New Tech Machinery’s rollforming equipment can help you better understand which rib to use in your next metal roofing project.  

What is a Rib Roller? 

A rib is a decorative and stiffening aspect that is formed in the flat part of a finished panel. Ribs are formed during the rollforming process through a series of rollers. However, rib rollers are not the same as the rollers that make the shape of the panel and panel legs. 

Benefits of rib rolling 

Adding ribs to a panel is great for stiffening the panel and hiding defects in the material or that may occur during rollforming. If the machine is out of adjustment, it could cause oil canning and potentially deform the material. Certain ribs, like striation ribs, can help hide oil canning. 

The choice to rib roll is ultimately a personal one, it can be done for pure aesthetics or for practical reasons! 

Types of rib rollers: 

• Bead ribs. These are some of the widest ribs you can produce on metal roof panels. They form a rectangular indent in the panel. 
• Pencil ribs. These are rounded ribs that look like a half-circle. 
• V-Ribs. These ribs are similar to pencil ribs; however, instead of a rounded shape like pencil ribs, V-ribs have a slight crease in the middle so that they look like an upside-down “v” when installed. 
• Striations. Striations are formed by a series of offset rollers that bend the metal in different directions to achieve a “waviness” between the finished panel’s legs. This artificial waviness in gives the panel structure and is often used to hide oil canning, possible defects in the panels, or improper installation issues when put on the roof. 
• Clip relief.  A clip relief is a raised edge inside the frame of the panel for a clip and fastener head to go underneath the panel. While technically not a rib, clip relief allows enough room for a fastener head so that it doesn’t push against the bottom of the panel and cause any distortion or denting. 

How NTM rib rollers work 

New Tech Machinery offers a separate rib roller assembly. This type of rib roller is designed to sit behind the shear and consists of a frame and a set of top and bottom roller assemblies that form the ribs between the panel legs, which allows you to engage or disengage the rollers to your liking. Additionally, you can also slide the bead or rib roller assembly left or right depending on where you want to put the ribs into the panel field. On all of the rib rollers, you can adjust the depth of the rib to make them shallower or deeper as desired. 

Unlike other panel profile tooling sets which are the components inside the portable rollforming machine that bend and shape the material to a specified style and create the standing panel legs used for installing the panels to the roof. 

Learn more about New Tech Machinery in their directory or visit www.newtechmachinery.com.