Roll Forming Systems for Steel Stud Framing

Structural Steel Building - Steel framing and decks

Steel stud framing refers to the building technique with a basic frame of vertical steel columns and horizontal I beams in the form of a rectangular grid. These grids support the floors, roof and walls of buildings. Steel framing is the basic structure on which other building materials rely for support. It is the strength, durability and sturdiness of steel that make it an excellent choice for framing. The construction of strong high rise buildings and skyscrapers in different states of America has been made possible by light gauge steel framing. The high strength framing steel used in these buildings is fabricated by roll former machines.

Roll formed steel is made by a progressive motion process wherein flat strips of cold steel are passed through a series of matching profile rolls driven in multiple stands. Tandem sets of rolls (referred to as roll stations) shape the metal stock in a series of progressive stages till the desired cross-sectional configuration is obtained. Roll forming process typically eliminates multiple stage production, sub-assembly and finishing operations. Several sub-assembly operations can be continuously combined in a steel stud roll forming machine. The additional operations, such as punching, notching, welding, and bending, that otherwise would have to be performed as secondary operations are incorporated into the roll forming line, minimizing handling and processing costs.

Thanks to the progressive manner in which bending takes place, there is little or no change in the cross sectional area of the work piece. Roll forming does not call for application of any heat and the use of roll former machines adds a strain hardening impact in steel, thereby increasing the yield strength. The process can increase the yield strength of full sections by as much as 70 percent more than virgin metal yield strength.

Thanks to roll former machines, building contractors have effective and economical steel framing solutions for the construction of high rise buildings. For commercial steel framing, roll formed steel has a considerable strength advantage over steel produced through other metal fabrication techniques. Strong bridges and other super structures are also constructed using roll formed steel for basic framing. Structures that have the support of steel stud framing can effectively withstand adverse weather, wind and even the seismic loads caused by earthquakes, hurricanes and cyclones.

With roll forming, the production of high strength structural steel for a variety of engineering applications has been made really simple and cost efficient.