5 Tips & Tricks to Use a Bead Roller to Your Advantage in Sheet Metal Fabrication

Bead rolling is a great sheet metal fabrication method. It can be used to not only strengthen sheet metal, but also to create great designs onto metal for different types of vehicles. While bead rolling certainly is fun to work with, there is always a room for improvement. There are a variety of tricks that can be used to improve the bead rolling process, and thus the final product. So, we decided to put our heads together and come up with a few tips and tricks that novices and first time fabricators can use during their bead rolling processes.

 

5 Tips to Improve the Function of a Bead Roller

The tips given below are ideal for creating different types of bead rolled sheet metal components for trucks, and other automobiles.

Making Adjustments for Bead Rolling Truck Cargo Panels: When creating the panels for the open cargo area in the back of trucks, the panels need to be in a straight line. A bead roller allows the fabricator to ensure the straightness of the lines, as well as ease of rolling. Generally, the edge of the bead roller comprises 6 inch plates, which come up against the sheet metal. This helps you to bead the metal completely straight. If you wish to have the beads further apart, you can add box tubing to the face of the bead roller guide. This will bring the guide out further, allowing you create beads that are more than four inches apart.

Count your Turns:  Most fabricators will want to create beads that are of the same shape and depth. To achieve this, you require right amount of tension and spacing between the bead roller dies. A simple way to accomplish this is to perform a certain number of turns to get the right result. Count the number of turns that the dies make while you are performing the rolling operation. If you have trouble remembering the turns, you can write them down.

Flexing is Fine: Many fabricators are under the assumption that if the sheet metal flexes, then it will be a problem during the bead rolling operation. The fact is, most sheet metal pieces will have some flex in them. Bead rollers help remove the flexing and make the pieces stiff and strong. Also, because the sheet metal is going in between the dies for the bead to be created, the flexing will not affect the bead rolling process. Once the sheet metal piece has undergone through one bead rolling operation, it will slowly reach maximum deflection, and then the flexing will stop. Simply apply a little bit of pressure on the metal when you are pushing it through the bead roller dies.

Clean and Lubricate the Roller: A well maintained bead roller will always provide smooth and efficient performance. Make sure to clean the bead roller regularly, especially after you have completed a large project. First, remove any small metal shards that you may find in between the rollers. Use manufacturer recommended cleaning fluid to get rid of any dirt on the rollers and dies. If you find that the rollers are not moving smoothly, you can apply a small amount of grease just smoothen the movement. These points will ensure that you will never have to deal with do-overs.

Do a Test Run: When you are working on large sheet metal pieces, it would always be a good idea to perform test runs before you actually work on the final pieces. You can figure out how much pressure is required to get the kind of bead that you require. You can also see how much clearance will be required when you turn the sheet metal to bead another edge of the panel. This will help you create a beading layout before you work on the final pieces, and also help you work on big metal pieces easily.

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