Panels, Fins & Plates
  
Roll Formed Metal Panels, Fins, and Plates are manufactured with the same method used on all other Roll Formed Parts. All three of these items are common in that when laid flat, they are always wider, than the formed areas are high. They are not to be confused with unformed flat metal sheets, panels, or plates. All Metals are used: Steel, Stainless, Aluminum, Brass, Copper, Alloys, Bronze, Clad, Foil, Perforated, & Wire Cloth. Prefinished metals used are: PrePainted, PrePlated, PreAnodized, Specular, Strippable-PVC, PrePolished, PreLaquered, PreLaminated, Galvanized-(G30, G60, G90, G210, Electro, Bonderized), Aluminized, Galvanneal, Galvalume, and Plain. Tooling is normally proprietary and cannot be used without approval by the customer it was made for. However if these products are simple wide Channels, for example, Existing Tooling may be available. Inline Post Notching and Prenotching are common for fabrications such as: Holes, Slots, Shear Forms, K/O's, Cutouts, Embossing, Perforating, End Fabricating, Cut-to-length, etc.
Panels
Roll Formed Metal Panels are very wide compared to height when laid flat. They can be formed at each edge of the width and/or be formed in many places along the width of the panel. Some Panels may be Corrugated, which is a series of forms along the width, in the shape of channels or radii. This requires a machine with many stations. Other panels may be formed as very Wide U-Channels with minor legs on each side of the width, or one area formed in the center or several areas of forming along the width of the panels.
It is very difficult to form panels without a wavy condition called Oil-Canning. Proper roll die design must be used to prevent this. The worst case scenario for this condition is when a panel is formed along one edge only. In some cases special roller leveled metal coil stock must be used to help prevent this. Harder materials than commercial grade also add to the degree of difficulty. This condition can be avoided if slight forming is done throughout the width of the panel even by adding slight stiffener ribs or beads when possible, which can also strengthen the part. The thinner a part is the more care must be taken to avoid these problems.
Straightness is also a serious concern on panels and requires a highly skilled roll die design to have the part come out almost completely straight before it gets to the straightener unit. The straightener unit must be made with equally sophisticated high skill so that one side of the panel is not straightened more than the other side. If not done correctly, the straightener can actually make the part twist more than it was coming out of the roll forming machine. Johnson Bros. is very experienced in the high degree of engineering needed on the rolls and on straightener units required for panels.
Most Panels we produce are not wider than 15" or thicker than .060". However, with higher volumes, wider and thicker panels are considered. Some Panels may have ends that get bent vertically in the cutoff or a secondary press operation, such as shelf panels. Panels are made from continuous coil and not usually made from precut metal sheets, but with enough volume, this can be considered. Advanced inline notching and cutting die accelerators and die boosts allow for faster and more accurate production. Our roll formed panels make an ideal store shelf or wall panel.
Fins
Roll Formed Metal Fins are similar to panels except that they are usually narrower and thinner. One edge of the width is typically flat, straight, or unformed. Fins can also be flat on both sides with forming done in the middle area. Fins can also be a profile with a flat leg or fin designed into it. Oil-Canning and straightness are most critical when the flat portion of a Fin is very wide. Since most fins are narrower than panels the concern over these problems is not usually as strong, but it is a concern that must be dealt with properly. The thinner a material is the more care must be made for this in design. Metal Foil as thin as .003" is even used in some cases. Materials used and Prefinishes used are the same as with panels. Tooling we have for Fins is almost always proprietary with new tooling being required. Some may be available as a product line we offer without tooling required. You may find a Fin in our Print examples that you can use with existing tooling, but the examples are not completely shown. Inline fabricating, notching and cutting are common. As with panels, Precut Strips are not used unless volume is high enough to consider it. Precut strips as with sheets can cause severe distortion at the ends as side to side movement, even if guided through each roll forming station. Continuous metal coil stock is what we use for almost all of our Roll Forming needs for this reason. Contact Johnson Brothers for a quote on metal fins, panels, store shelving, wall panels, wall panels, shelf panels, and more.
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