Regular roll-former maintenance can provide decades of uninterrupted service
Regular roll-former maintenance can provide decades of uninterrupted service
July/August - Like any manufacturing or machining tool, a roll former requires regular maintenance to ensure predictable operation and to avoid unscheduled downtime.
Unlike CNC machining equipment, new or old-model roll formers tend to be straightforward from a mechanical standpoint. There are only a few styles available, and they use readily available components, making it possible for companies to be self-sufficient with maintenance and repairs.
When developing a plan for roll-former maintenance, it’s good to first gather the machine information. Is the following documentation available?
- Arrangement drawings of all major mechanical assemblies of the machine, such as roll stands, gearboxes, entry tables, fixtures, etc.
- A bill of materials for each of the major mechanical assemblies used to identify worn and damaged components for replacement.
If the company does not have this information, check with the original machine manufacturer. It may require a fee for a manual, reference drawings and bill of materials for older machines, particularly if it is from the pre-CAD era or no longer in production. At that time, also ask the OEM for some additional information:
- Are there retrofits, upgrades or recommended maintenance kits that can be supplied?
- Is there a recommended lubrication and maintenance schedule?
- That information can be a framework for in-house preventative maintenance. If the original manufacturer information is unavailable, it may be in the company’s interest to develop its own bill of materials: Identify components, send them to a reputable machine shop for reverse engineering if necessary, and document the items and subassemblies with pictures in various stages of disassembly and reassembly so the images are available for future reference.
Pinpointing needs
After compiling this information, it is best to determine the machine’s operational maintenance and spare parts needs. When reviewing the bill of materials, identify each component as critical, recommended or routine, where critical component failures render the machine unusable and routine items may be replaced in a timely manner but they can be bypassed or temporarily repaired in
the meantime.
For critical items, such as bearings, bushings, gears or sprockets, keeping them on hand for preventative maintenance should not be difficult to justify. Other items, such as gearboxes and motors, may be a financially significant commitment, so the company needs to weigh that cost against the likely length of downtime should those fail. Weekly inspection of these items for unusual noise, vibration or heat, especially prior to the summer months, may help to justify the timing of preventative maintenance or replacement should they start to show significant signs of wear. A company can rent an infrared camera or request a visit from a motor supplier who may have this service available to capture images of the machines in production and see hot spots that may become failure points if not addressed.
When reviewing the machine for maintenance, note where items are used for alignment between components, such as keys and keyways, shims and spacers. For example, when replacing the bearings and retainers on a roll-forming stand, a company may have a stack-up variation from one roll stand to the next, depending on the age and amount of wear on the components.
After maintenance, align the roll shaft shoulders along the length of the machine as well as top to bottom. This will help ensure repeatability of tooling setups and product manufacturing. With a straight edge, wire or preferably laser, any differences in the shoulder can be offset with shims, depending on the design of the machine, or grindable spacers in the roll space to get the machine within required specifications.
Depending on the age and availability of information on the machine, the effort required to develop a maintenance program will vary, but with regular maintenance, a roll-forming machine should provide decades of uninterrupted service and a low-cost method of manufacturing sheet metal. FFJ
