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Getting to know roll forming

World-Class Roll Forming Workshop, April 18-19, in Elgin, Ill., is the place to make this happen

Roll forming tooling is shown.

Interested in roll forming? The World-Class Roll Forming Workshop, April 18-19, at FMA’s headquarters in Elgin, Ill. Nordroden

Roll forming technology helped to build the U.S. into a manufacturing giant, and the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association (FMA) has been a supporter of this sector for a majority of its 50-plus years of existence.

With that in mind, FMA is hosting its World-Class Roll Forming Workshop, April 18-19, at FMA’s headquarters in Elgin, Ill., and would like to invite those roll formers, or those interested in learning more about this highly efficient manufacturing process, to attend.

The FABRICATOR spoke with FORMTEK Inc. Vice President of Business Development Paul Williams, a member of the FMA Roll Forming Technology Council, to provide an overview of the event.

The FABRICATOR: Can you describe the World-Class Roll Forming Workshop?

Paul Williams: World-Class Roll Forming is a conference program that the FMA Roll Forming Technology Council has been putting on for more than 25 years. The conference has existed in many different forms over the years, and currently it runs as a stand-alone program in odd-numbered years and is co-lated with FMA’s Pipe and Tube conference in even-numbered years.

One thing that has stayed constant over the years is the Roll Forming Technology Council’s commitment to put on a program with the top experts in the roll forming field. The goal is not only to help and train attendees, but also have the experts interact with them so that everyone has their roll forming questions answered.

FAB: What can attendees expect from this year’s edition of World-Class Roll Forming?

Williams: For a number of years, we have used a workshop format where four different sessions were being held simultaneously. Typically, our attendees could see nine out of 14 sessions during the conference. The sessions catered to small groups, which allowed for a very interactive dynamic between the speakers and attendees.

However, based off feedback we received from our attendees on conference evaluations—yes, they are read—they mentioned they would like to have access to all of the conference sessions, instead of being put in a position to choose sessions and possibly miss some. So this year, we have gone back to a conventional conference format where every speaker will speak once.

We have even increased the number of topics typically covered. We’ll be offering 15 sessions for attendees this year.

Even though each of the speakers will be presenting to all of the attendees at one time, we still will encourage our attendees to ask questions, bring prints, and share problems with our experts, either during the presentations or the multiple opportunities outside the sessions. One of the best opportunities for this one-on-one type of conversation is our networking reception, which also will act as the venue for the very popular Roll Forming Jeopardy contest.

FAB: What can attendees expect to learn at this conference?

Williams: There is no other forum in this country where experts from every aspect of the roll forming industry convene to share their knowledge. The attendees will be introduced to equipment, tooling, lubrication, safety, and automation—just to name a few of the presentation topics.

A networking event at the World-Class Roll Forming Workshop is shown.

At the World-Class Roll Forming Workshop, attendees get to learn during the presentations and at the networking event when everyone’s favorite gameshow, Roll Forming Jeopardy, is played.

Attendees also will be shown how roll forming can easily be justified to replace other processes, such as stamping and assembly. The combined experience of the presenters is measured in hundreds of years!

FAB: What do you see as the most critical issue facing the roll forming industry at this time?

Williams: Of course, this is not limited to just the roll forming industry, but companies are concerned about the lack of skilled workers entering the workforce. Because of this, we are seeing more requests for automation in roll forming line installations.

With the diminishing skill levels of operators and engineers, management thinks that automation is a way to fix this. The problem is—unless the workers need to know the basics and why things happen—there still can be a huge knowledge void.

People don’t realize that there are multiple ways to do what I call “soft automation” within a roll forming line. This could be as simple as having a good preventive maintenance program, changing a lubricant, adding punching inline instead of relying on an offline process, or knowing how to keep the roll tooling gapped correctly. Taking these kinds of steps can help increase the overall productivity of a line, which could lead to redistributing the workforce into different areas. Freeing up labor to take on other tasks in a facility is always going to be preferable over trying to find someone new to do the same thing.

Besides the simple things, a company can rely on advanced automation as well. For instance, automation added to the roll mill can automatically adjust the rolls themselves, eliminating the need to rely on an experienced line operator.

FAB: What do you think can be done to help fill the gap being left by experienced roll formers leaving the workforce?

>Williams: The issue is how companies look at training. Companies talk of the need for training, but when it is requested, companies are telling their workers that they can’t be out of the plant for multiple days. While time away is a big issue, the lack of education being provided to their workforce is a bigger one.

I am sure companies ask, “What is the return on investment for sending people to conferences?” I ask, “Is there a better way for a company to invest in their employees and possibly improve their roll forming knowledge? Do personnel in human resources understand the importance of a company showing their commitment to employee training, which in turn helps to retain those same employees?"

In an industry where I’ve heard “The best thing we do is training; the worst thing we do is training,” getting knowledge-starved personnel to a conference like World-Class Roll Forming can be a challenge.

FAB: Is the World-Class Roll Forming Workshop just for roll mill operators?

Williams: The Roll Forming Technology Council feels that this type of program is highly valuable for any company’s employees who roll form or are possibly looking to roll form in the future. This not only includes mill operator-type workers, but also engineers, product designers, and upper management.

The more people you can get to understand how to improve productivity, reduce scrap and downtime, and communicate in the same language, the better it will be for the company.

Visitors to the Big River Steel are briefed before they begin a tour.

Facility visits, such as this visit to Big River Steel in Osceola, Ark., in 2019, are a regular part of the World-Class Roll Forming Workshop.

FAB: What else can World-Class Roll Forming Workshop attendees expect?

Williams: Another unique aspect of World-Class Roll Forming is that we are not always bound by conventional tours, where roll forming lines are the focus of the facility. In the past, we have toured unique facilities such as Harley-Davidson, Lockheed Martin, and even AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

This year, we have an opportunity to tour TRUMPF’s Smart Factory in Hoffman Estates, Ill., where visitors will be able to see a completely automated metal fabricating operation, controlled and monitored with a few operators who use Industry 4.0 technologies to track production and adjust schedules when necessary.

About the Author
The Fabricator

Dan Davis

Editor-in-Chief

2135 Point Blvd.

Elgin, IL 60123

815-227-8281

Dan Davis is editor-in-chief of The Fabricator, the industry's most widely circulated metal fabricating magazine, and its sister publications, The Tube & Pipe Journal and The Welder. He has been with the publications since April 2002.