Variable-Radius Roll Forming Tool for Fixed-Gap Sheet Metal Bending
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet metal rolling machines require manual adjustment of the forming gap to produce parts with variable radii, leading to nonuniformity, and automated solutions are cost-prohibitive for many fabricators.
Innovation Solution
An adjunct roll forming tool with an upwardly inclined surface, made of pliable thermoplastic or thermoset materials, supports the sheet metal blank to form variable radii parts without adjusting the forming gap, using a conventional machine with fixed roll spacing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If manual adjustment of the forming gap is used to produce parts with variable radii, then the machine can be operated with conventional equipment, but the production leads to nonuniformity of the variable radii
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary tool (a curved support tool with variable radius surface) between the sheet metal blank and the forming rolls. This tool mediates the forming process by providing the desired variable radius profile while the forming rolls maintain a fixed gap, thereby eliminating the need for manual adjustments and ensuring uniformity of the formed parts.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved support tool is pre-configured with the desired variable radius profile before the forming process begins. This preliminary preparation of the tool geometry allows the forming process to proceed without adjustments, as the tool already embodies the desired outcome geometry.
2Manufacturing precision
If automated adjustment of the forming gap is implemented, then the uniformity of variable radii can be improved, but the cost becomes prohibitive for many fabricators
Solution Approach 1:
The curved support tool serves as a simple intermediary device that achieves precise variable radius forming without requiring complex automated adjustment mechanisms. This mediator approach provides manufacturing precision through tool geometry rather than through complex control systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The curved support tool can be manufactured as a relatively simple, inexpensive component (potentially disposable or easily replaceable) that provides precise forming capabilities without the high cost of automated adjustment systems. The tool's geometry, not complex machinery, determines the precision.
3Device complexity
If the forming gap is fixed between the forming rolls, then the machine structure is simplified, but the ability to produce variable radii parts is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The curved support tool acts as an intermediary that enables variable radius forming with fixed roll spacing. The tool's variable radius surface compensates for the fixed gap constraint, allowing the system to produce diverse part geometries without requiring adjustable roll positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent shifts the variability from the vertical dimension (forming gap between rolls) to the horizontal dimension (curved tool surface geometry). By introducing variability through the tool's surface profile rather than through roll position adjustment, the system maintains fixed roll spacing while achieving adaptability.
Data Source
AI summary
Curved sheet metal parts having variable (multiple) radii may be formed using an adjunct roll forming tool in cooperation with a conventional sheet metal rolling machine without the need to adjust spacing between the forming rolls of the machine during conveyance of the sheet metal blank. The roll forming tool preferably is formed as a one piece solid body having leading and trailing edges and defining an upwardly inclined upper surface in a direction between the leading and trailing edges for supporting a sheet metal blank thereon. The upwardly inclined upper surface forms the curved sheet metal part with variable radii when conveyed through forming rolls of the sheet metal roll forming machine without the need to continually adjust the dimensional spacing between the forming rolls during conveyance therethrough.