The Official Roll Bending Thread

Here is a good story about how a forum changed this guys life, now he is raking in the money.

http://www.baileighindustrial.com/blog/roll-bending-a-true-art-form/

 

Lets bump this for some roll bending tech on thech week!

 

Anyone make their own roll bender?

 

Hi guys! My first post here after reading thru the thread a couple of times..
I've analized many options of DIY tubing rollers and found out this design most suitable for me:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFtRfNOKw_0
I wanted to design something from scrap but 'You shouldn't open already open doors' so I searched heavily first and decided to improve the design above.
I want to add an electric motor, BUT I don't know which one to choose. How much Hp/kW? Rpm? Please help, because I'm stuck with it - I'm not much of an electrician so I have to rely on someone else's experience. Will 0,37 kW be enough? I use 230V (Poland). I will be rolling 22mm,32mm tubes and 25-30mm square tubes. 2-3mm thick

 

This thread is extremely interesting.........read every post and learned a lot.

Thanks for all the good info. (although I really feel like a hack now )

Don

 

anything about those motors I wrote about a post before? anyone?

 

Will the HF roller roll a 2" square tube to a 6' diameter? Not sure what wall I'd use, want to keep it as light as possible, but not deform too bad. Possibly making a set of SteamPunk style doors to go in front of an oven in a coffee shop.

 

I have some roll bending questions. I am a Manufacturing Engineer that started as a Tool and Die Maker.
I started a new job and we are rolling rectangle aluminum (1.25” X 1.00” X .055”) laying down the “easy” way. We are using an Eagle rolling machine (sorry, not Baleigh) and rolling as tight as 30” radius. Out of 20-25 20’ sticks we were having a hard time getting repeatability, running one at about 50” radius then feeding in another stick it would roll about 53” radius. This is a NEW machine so I am fairly certain the machine is not the problem, I am thinking it is inconsistencies in the material. The material is 6005A. We have also seen some cases of surface dimples on the inside surface, again… we would roll several parts and then get one that would dimple, same setting and run within 5 minutes of each other (see attached photos)

So with that said I have a few questions:
What do the numbers on the LCD representing? I know it is measuring the linear motion of the upper roller but is it a particular angle, position or an arbitrary number so you can set it up a month later to duplicate today’s part kind of thing?

I am being told we can get this material extruded in any alloy we specify, what would be a better alloy for this? We will be rolling hundreds of parts a month in multiple radius's.
Where is a good online resource to learn roll bending basics? This process is new to me.

 

Yes, roll bending is a true art form with many variables. I would be more than happy to help you out, even if it is not a Baileigh roll bender. I love roll bending applications....call me, much easier to talk for 15 minutes than type 5 paragraphs.

Your problem is a simple fix.

Shane 920-482-3220

Thanks!

 

Shane, You must be very busy. I have called several times and you are away, what is a good time to get a hold of you?

Thanks again

 

Had a metal shaping class this weekend, just got back from lunch....I am here now.

 

Bringing this thread back up. Shane thanks for starting it.
I'm getting ready to build a benchtop roll bender and have downloaded many of the homebuilt bender pictures for my design. My question is about the space between the two lower driven rollers. Would it improve the initial couple of inches of the bend to have a short platen/support below the upper bending die so the material doesn't get forced downward? Possibly make a 4 wheel design? The Buffalo bender in post # 2 is the source for my idea.

Movin/on

 

Well....be careful what you wish for. A longer distance between the bottom two rolls will increase the "unbent flat" but will make it very easy to roll with minimal downward force needed.

Minimizing the space between the bottom 2 rolls will decrease the "unbent flat" but will increase the downward force needed to create pinch...also creating more drag. Without gear reduction, it can be extremely hard to roll with thicker material.

I find just dealing with the unbent flat is easier. Cut it off at the end.