Stainless Steel Roll Forming: How It Works

Roll forming involves the continuous bending of a metal strip at room temperature. Through the use of tandem rollers, the metal strip undergoes a progressive shaping process until it reaches the intended profile. Many stainless steel components that can be sheet-formed can also be suitable for roll forming. Roll forming is ideal for creating long lengths of metal profiles as well as large volumes of metal-formed products.

Why Use Stainless Steel Over Other Metals for Roll Forming?

Roll forming applications depend on stainless steel over other metals due to its various desirable properties. Stainless steel possess superior corrosion resistance and high-heat performance. Several stainless steel grades are highly regarded by manufacturers for roll forming, including:

  • 201. Grade 201 is an austenitic chromium-nickel-manganese alloy that offers comparable formability and corrosion resistance to 304. Due to its lower nickel content, it is a more cost-effective option while still providing a wide range of desirable mechanical properties.
  • 304. This is one of the most common grades of stainless steel. Containing high amounts of chromium and nickel, this austenitic stainless steel offers excellent corrosion resistance, good formability, oxidation resistance, and durability.
  • 430. 430 stainless steel is a non-hardenable material containing straight chromium. This ferritic, corrosion-resistant grade offers good formability and machining properties, but it’s not the most weldable compared to other stainless steel types.
  • 439. This ferritic grade of stainless steel offers similar corrosion resistance to grade 304. This material features good weldability, exceptional resistance to corrosion cracking, and resistance to oxidation.

Although not as common for roll forming applications as the abovementioned grades, stainless steel types 304L and 316L are often used when welding is required.

What Industries Use Form Rolling Stainless Steel Services?

Various applications rely on roll forming. The forming method can create various shapes with highly-fabricable, high-strength, and corrosion-resistant stainless steel. Roll-formed stainless steel is used to produce products in the following industries:

  • Cubicle Systems
  • Office Furniture
  • Telecommunications
  • Barbeque
  • Appliance
  • Solar
  • Medical
  • Liquid Hauling Tanker Trucks
  • Other Industrial Sectors

What Are the Advantages and Benefits of Roll Forming Compared To Other Metal Forming Processes?

Roll forming stainless steel delivers various advantages over other metal forming processes such as metal stamping. Key benefits that roll forming offers include:

  • Uses less steel to create strong and lightweight structural parts
  • Processes metal parts at high volumes
  • Will not cause breakage or tearing when processing high-strength steels
  • Creates consistent parts with exacting tolerances and incredible precision
  • Delivers fine surface finishes and parts amenable to secondary processes like welding
  • Suitable for metal parts with varied dimensions, flexibilities, and surface coatings
  • The process offers more flexibility and responsiveness than extrusion and press braking

Custom Roll Forming From Premier Products of Racine

Roll forming is the ideal process for shaping various grades of stainless steel. Stainless steel offers exceptional strength, corrosion resistance, and formability, making it an ideal material for the roll forming process. Roll forming provides various benefits, including the creation of stronger and lighter parts, the ability to process metal parts at high volumes, and more.

At Premier Products of Racine, Inc., we have delivered custom roll forming at competitive prices to various industries since 1999. Our Wisconsin facility adapts to customer requirements and provides services with low overhead to compete with foreign and domestic metal forming providers. We also offer a range of value-added services like press brake, riveting, welding, finishing, custom packaging, and assembly.

For more information about our custom roll forming capabilities, or to work with us on your next project, request a quote today. 

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