A roll forming machine comprising multiple mill stands having components defining a material pass line through the mill stands, a fixed support supporting said components, slid ably mounting means slid ably mounting said components on said fixed support for movement transverse to said pass line, a changing cart mounted for movement parallel to said material pass line along a side of said fixed support, a changing fixture having multiple stations for receiving one of said components, each of said stations including station supports for slid ably supporting one of said components, said changing cart having sliding support means compatible with the slid ably mounting means and the station supports to permit a mill stand to be moved between said fixed support, said cart, and one of the stations of said changing fixture.

According to the invention, each of the side roll stands are mounted on a fixed support via rails which extend transversely to the material pass line. A changing cart is mounted on rails extending generally parallel to the material pass line so that the cart can travel along one side of the roll forming machine. Accordingly, when one of the side roller stands is to be changed, the side roll stand slides off the fixed support and onto the cart. The cart can then be used to transfer the side roll stand to one station of a changing fixture, which is equipped with parallel sets of rails to both receive side roller stands that must be retooled, and to store stands to replace stands on the tube line. The stand that is to be installed on the tube line is then transferred to the cart and from the cart to the tube line. Accordingly, no overhead crane is required, and the time required to change a side roll is reduced by 80%. Accordingly, down time for changeover is substantially reduced, and production can be increased.

A roll forming machine includes side roll stands which are changed by use of a cart and set up fixture which are movable parallel to the pass line through the stands. When a side roll stand is to be changed, a changing cart is moved into position such that rails on the cart are aligned with rails on the fixed support supporting the side roll stand. The side roll stand is moved off of the fixed support and onto the cart, and then moved from the cart into an empty station on a set up fixture. A retooled stand is moved from another station on the set up fixture onto the cart and then from the cart back onto the fixed support. Accordingly, time to effect changeover of a stand is reduced substantially from prior art methods, and no heavy equipment, such as a crane, is required.

A roll forming machine comprising multiple mill stands having components defining a material pass line through the mill stands, a fixed support supporting said components, slid ably mounting means slid ably mounting said components on said fixed support for movement transverse to said pass line, a changing cart mounted for movement parallel to said material pass line along a side of said fixed support, a changing fixture having multiple stations for receiving one of said components, each of said stations including station supports for slid ably supporting one of said components, said changing cart having sliding support means compatible with the slid ably mounting means and the station supports to permit a mill stand to be moved between said fixed support, said cart, and one of the stations of said changing fixture.

This invention relates to a roll forming machine for forming flat sheet stock into tubing and to a method for changing side rollers of such roll forming machines.

Roll forming machines, also known as tube mills, include multiple mill stands each having rolls of a different design used to progressively form flat sheet stock into a tube. The mill stands are of two basic different types. One type of mill stand uses "pinch" rolls mounted on horizontal arbors, which are driven by electric motors. These pinch rollers are engaged with the top and bottom of the sheet stock being fed through the mill. The other type of stand includes "side" rolls, which are generally not driven and are mounted on vertically extending arbors. The side rolls engage the side of the tube to "push" sideways on the still open tube as it is being formed. In either case, different rolls must be used for each different type and size of tube to be manufactured. Accordingly, it is often necessary to shut down the line and retool the tube mills. Several hours are often required for a complete retool of the tube mill. The present invention concerns a method and apparatus for more easily accomplishing retooling of the vertically mounted side rollers. It will, of course, be appreciated that the side rollers must be changed every time that the pinch rollers are changed because the profile of the tooling is for a specific size and type of tube.

In accordance with this invention, there is also provided a locating pin 46 (FIG. 5), having a rod 48 adapted to be insertable through one of the locating through-holes 42, 44 in the mounting plate member 36 and into one of the bushings 34 fitted into a locating hole in the back plate 22. Although not shown in detail, the mounting plate member 36 is provided with a collar 49 surrounding each of the locating through-holes 42, 46. The collar 49 includes a keyway adapted to receive the key pin 50 extending orthogonally from the rod 48 of the locating pin 46 to secure the locating pin 46 in place. The locating pin 46 is also provided with a handle rod 52 for manual manipulation thereof.

FIGS. 6A, 6B through 9A, 9B illustrate the mounting of a module 20 on the mounting plate member 36 to form two different edge profiles and the simple steps for converting therebetween. FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate the mounting of a module 20 with the roll forming station 17B along the predetermined path of travel of the supply strip of sheet metal. The module 20 is secured by the four bolts 54 which extend through the slots 38, 40 and are received within the four lower threaded mounting holes 32 of the back plate 22. The locating pins 46 extend through the locating through-holes 42, 44 of the mounting plate member 36 and into the two lower bushings 34 of the module 20. The locating pins 46 are use to precisely locate the module 20 on the mounting plate member 36 and the bolts 54 are used to secure the module 20 at that precise location so that the roll forming station 17B is along the predetermined path of travel of the supply strip of sheet metal. When it is desired to convert the machine 20 to change the edge profile by utilizing the roll forming station 17A in place of the roll forming station 17B, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the two lower bolts 54 and the locating pins 46 are removed and the upper bolts 54 are loosened. As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the module 20 is then lowered, with the bolts 54 moving from the top to the bottom of the slots 38, 40. Next, the locating pins 46 are inserted through the locating through-holes 42, 44 of the mounting plate member 36 and the position of the module 20 is adjusted until the locating pins 46 can freely enter the upper two bushings 34 of the module 20. The previously removed bolts 54 are then inserted through the slots 38, 40 and are received by the upper two threaded mounting holes 32 in the back plate 22 of the module 20. All four bolts 54 are then tightened. The machine 10 is now ready to utilize the roll forming station 17A to form the desired edge profile on the supply strip of sheet metal.

Accordingly, there has been disclosed a roll forming machine having the capability whereby an operator can quickly change the profile along the edge of a supply strip of sheet metal. While an illustrative embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, it is understood that various adaptations and modifications to the disclosed embodiment are possible. Thus, for example, instead of a vertical translation of the module, it is contemplated that a rotation of the module can also be effected. Also, more than two roll forming stations can be incorporated in each module. It is therefore intended that this invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1 and 2 schematically show a roll forming machine, designated generally by the reference numeral 10, in which the present invention is incorporated. Illustratively, the machine 10 is for forming roofing panels. As is conventional, the machine 10 has a spindle 12 at one end for supporting a supply strip coil of sheet metal (not shown). The sheet metal supply coil strip is of uniform width and has a pair of parallel straight edges. The supply strip of sheet metal is pulled by driven rollers 14 so as to travel along a predetermined path through the machine 10 and past a plurality of spaced roll forming stations 16. At the end of the machine 10 remote from the spindle 12 is a cutting station 18 for cutting the formed roofing panel to a desired length.

As discussed previously, it is often desirable to be able to change, on-site, the edge profile of the roofing panel so that the panel can be secured to the underlying roof structure either by nails or by clips. The roll forming stations 17 along one side of the machine 10 are the ones that form the desired edge profile. According to the present invention, there is provided a module 20, as shown in FIG. 3, which includes an upper roll forming station 17A and a lower roll forming station 17B which are used to form the desired edge profiles. The module 20 includes a back plate 22 to which are mounted the roll forming stations 17A, 17B in vertical alignment one with the other. Each of the roll forming stations 17A, 17B includes rollers 24A, 24B, respectively, rotatably mounted to bracket pieces 26 which are secured to the back plate 22, illustratively by Allen screws 28 (FIG. 4) or the like. Rods 30 extending between respective pairs of the bracket pieces 26 provide lateral stability to the bracket pieces 26.

The back plate 22 of the module 20 is formed with two parallel vertical rows of threaded mounting holes 32. The back plate 22 is also formed with a vertical row of locating holes, each fitted with a bushing 34, which is parallel to the rows of mounting holes 32. Illustratively, each of the rows of mounting holes and locating holes includes three such holes.

To support the modules 20, the machine 10 is provided with a mounting plate member 36 along one of its sides. Illustratively, there may be a plurality of smaller mounting plate members 36 making up a larger overall mounting plate member. In any event, the mounting plate member 36, for each individual module 20, is formed with a pair of spaced parallel slots 38, 40 elongated in the vertical direction. The slots 38, 40 are spaced equally to the spacing between the two rows of threaded mounting holes 32 on the back plate 22 of the module 20. The mounting plate member 36 is further formed with a pair of locating through-holes 42, 44 arrayed along a line between and parallel to the slots 38, 40. The locating through-holes 42, 44 are so situated on the mounting plate member 36 as to be alignable with a respective pair of the locating holes in the back plate 22 when the threaded mounting holes 32 in the back plate 22 are aligned with the slots 38 and 40 of the mounting plate member 36.