Structural shape rolling

Structural shapes that can be made with this metal forming process include I-beams, H-beams, T-beams, U-beams, angle iron, channels, bar stock, and railroad rails.

It is a cost-effective way of bending these materials because the process requires less set-up time and uses pre-made dies that are changed according to the shape and dimension of the workpiece.

Structural shapes can be rolled in different ways such as the “easy-way”, the “hard-way”, heel in/out, ball in/out, leg in/out, stem in/out, and off axis.

The hard-way would be bending the workpiece in the orientation where its moment of inertia is the greatest.

The easy-way is bending the workpiece along the axis with the smallest moment of inertia.