Michael Castellucci

Controlling the Cold Roll Forming Design Process

The cold roll forming process requires successive forming profiles to be determined and an appropriate number of profiled roll sets to be designed for the product to be rolled. This paper examines the design process and how one company has put in place a design-production control system that allows designs to be ranked in terms of quality and efficiency. In addition, consideration is given to the proportion of time given to each design task and how non-creative design activities can be automated.

Simulating the Mechanical and Structural Properties of UltraSTEELTM Dimpled Sheet

The novel surface dimpling UltraSTEELTM process developed by Hadley Industries increases the strength of the final rolled products and enhances other product properties such as the load carrying capacity. The dimpled UltraSTEELTM sheet is used in steel framing, ceilings and other structural components. The mechanical properties and structural behaviour of the dimpled sheet are different from plain sheet due to non-uniformly distributed plastic strain and geometry of the dimples.

The management of expert knowledge for cold roll form design

This paper describes issues relating to the Knowledge Management (KM) of expert roll tool design, as part of an initiative to improve the design process for cold roll forming. The management of knowledge has been used to standardise design practices in working towards automation, to improve lead times and retain expert knowledge within a metal forming organisation. The paper utilises the first two years of a real and ongoing 4-year case study, to examine KM and Knowledge Elicitation (KE) initiatives and specific problems experienced during the management of expert knowledge.

Vibro-acoustic Performance of Different Steel Studs in Double-leaf Walls by Finite Element Analysis

Cold-formed steel studs are often used in lightweight partition walls to provide structural stability but in the same time they change the acoustic performance of the whole system. The overall design of such lightweight structures for acoustic sound insulation becomes very complicated as the sound passing through stud needs to be quantified. One of the greatest challenges is to characterize the studs geometric effects on the sound transmission of the partition walls. This paper presents a 2-D Finite Element modelling approach and results into the vibro-acoustic performance of different studs in double-leaf walls which are placed in between a reverberant source room and a receiving room. The acoustic medium inside rooms was modelled using fluid elements and the structure was modelled with plane strain elements. The interaction between the acoustic medium and the structure was modelled in a coupled structural-acoustic analysis. An FE modelling setup which includes appropriate model parameters to be used in the structural-acoustic analysis was presented. The FE sound reduction of double-leaf walls using two different stud profiles was then calculated. Experimental tests complying with standards ISO 717-1:1997 and 140-3:1995 were also carried out to evaluate the FE results. It has shown that the studs shape have significant effects on the sound reduction of the double-leaf walls, and the FE results have similar trends are in fair agreement with the experimental results. A parametric study was conducted and the effects of the studs shapes on the sound reduction were presented and discussed.

Automating the Design of Cold Roll Forming Roll Sets

The design of cold roll forming roll tools, roll geometry and the number of tool sets, can typically be referred to as experiential design. Within a multi-occupant design office there will normally, for the same sectional profile, be as many different designs as there are designers. This variation in design results in a lack of design consistency and hence makes the process of developing design understanding, increasing profile complexity, maintaining quality, and roll tool predictability very difficult. This paper contains an explanation of the approach taken within the Hadley Group to identify the discrete steps associated with roll tool set design. To implement methods to standardise these steps including strip width and clearance calculations. With appropriate design steps standardised an explanation is provided as to how elements of this design process is automated leading to a system of assisted design for roll tool sets. The results, including increased design capacity, of the assisted roll design after being incorporated into the design office are discussed.

Roll Forming: Reusable Design and Quantifiable Design Effectiveness

The cold rolled forming process passes flat sheet metal through a series of roll tool sets resulting in complex final section profiles. The sheet metal is deformed both while in contact with the rolls and while in between the roll. Some of the variables in this process include the roll tool set and hence progression design and the designer; the metal type and its thickness; and the sectional profile and the associated tolerances required by the customer. When a customer orders a new profile the roll tool and hence system designers’, start by trying to determine if something similar has previously been rolled. If a similar profile can be identified then that becomes the starting point for the new process design which includes the roll tool sets and the number of sets. Typically previous designs have been identified from the collective design office memory or by searching through past drawings until something similar is found. When a previous similar rolled section is identified; unless the design is very recent it is often impossible to gauge a measure of design and hence rolling success. This paper describes how the authors have developed and implemented within the Hadley Group a searchable database of previously rolled profiles, thus enabling all similar profiles to be identified. In addition, the paper contains a description of how a measure of tooling design effectiveness has been developed and is used as part of the full design, pre-production rolling, and full production rolling process with the results being incorporated into the database, hence enabling an informed selection of the design starting point.