Should You Avoid Heat Forming When Rollforming?

By Central States Manufacturing. 

Is heat forming actually necessary or not? Central States Manufacturing is on the case, investigating this myth. 

Heat forming is a process that utilizes an infrared heater on the metal, heating it to 170 degrees Fahrenheit before rollforming. Some manufacturers have claimed that heat forming is a better process over rollforming, saying that it can reduce tension-bend cracking. 

Yet, for years the metal industry has been rollforming panels at a normal temperature and delivering years of excellent service life. At Central States Manufacturing we don't use heat forming, but instead warehouse and manufacture the materials in a climate-controlled environment. We conducted a rollformed bend analysis experiment via a third-party laboratory to validate our process. Read on to learn what we discovered. 

July 6, 2021 Central States - Roll Formed Bend Analysis 

Method 

Panels were rollformed at different temperatures from Central States three northern manufacturing locations. These panels were then submitted to a third-party laboratory for optical analysis of the roll formed edges. The roll formed edges on two bend locations of each panel were evaluated using a Leica EZ4 D stereo microscope at 10x and 25x magnification. The bend locations are identified in the illustration. 

Conclusion 

All of the roll formed panels submitted to for laboratory evaluation did not exhibit visual cracking under magnification. 

Choose quality metal manufactured with climate-controlled processes 

We purchase the highest quality material.  

Material substrates have improved greatly over time to address prior concerns of rollforming at extreme cold temperatures. The Central States purchasing team works diligently with our vendor partners to ensure the metal coils used in our manufacturing process are of the highest quality material that resist failure during the rollforming process.  

We warehouse and manufacture in climate-controlled environments.  

We maintain a consistent climate in our manufacturing facilities to avoid any unnecessary stress that temperature changes may have on our material, as well as our people and machines that process them. Our coil inventory is stored indoors in a warm, climate-controlled holding area giving it adequate time to acclimate to the proper temperature before it is available for production. We keep our production areas at a constant 60 degrees or greater throughout the winter months, following guidelines that are set by our paint manufacturer.  

We avoid unnecessary stress to the metal during the rollforming process.  

During the manufacturing process, we avoid flash-heating of the material to avoid a risk of rapid material expansion. Unnecessary stress due to rapid material expansion may cause the panel to be flexed or warped and fall outside of our strict tolerances. Our roll forming process gradually reshapes the material to avoid any undue stress on the bend areas.  

We are confident in our Lifetime warranty.  

CentralGuard is our specific combination of everything that goes into making the highest quality metal panels. Available on our Prime and Ultra panels, the CentralGuard name is a guarantee that you have the best protection and a lifetime paint warranty. 

Learn more about Central States Manufacturing in their directory or visit www.centralstatesmfg.com. 

Original article source: Central States Manufacturing