The Role of Rollers in Plate Rolling Machines

A three-roll plate rolling machine is a general-purpose forging and pressing machine capable of bending non-metallic sheets into cones, spheres, cylinders, or other shapes. This capability is widely used in manufacturing, boiler steam, chemical, non-metallic structural, and machinery manufacturing industries. A four-roll plate rolling machine is suitable for bending and forming metal sheets. It can roll round, arc-shaped, and conical workpieces within a certain range, and has a pre-bending function for the sheet ends, resulting in a small remaining straight edge, high working efficiency, and rough leveling of metal sheets.

The roller movement patterns of three-roll and four-roll plate rolling machines differ. However, their working principles are the same: both utilize the principle of three points defining a circle to roll different radii. The differences between four-roll and three-roll plate bending machines are as follows:

1. In a three-roll plate bending machine, the upper roll is symmetrically positioned between the two lower rolls. Hydraulic oil in a hydraulic cylinder drives a piston for vertical lifting and lowering. The final gear of the main reducer drives the two lower rolls to rotate, providing torque for rolling the sheet metal. A four-roll plate bending machine is suitable for bending and forming metal sheets. It can roll round, arc-shaped, and conical workpieces within a certain range. It also has a pre-bending function for the sheet metal ends, resulting in a small remaining straight edge, high efficiency, and the ability to roughly level the sheet metal on this machine.

2. In a three-roll asymmetrical plate bending machine, the upper roll is the main drive, while the lower roll moves vertically to clamp the sheet metal. The lower roll gear meshes with the upper roll gear and also serves as the main drive. The side rolls tilt and lift, providing both pre-bending and rolling functions. It has a compact structure and is easy to operate and maintain. The upper roller of the four-roll plate rolling machine is the main drive, connected to the reducer and cross slider coupling to provide torque for rolling the plate; the lower roller moves vertically up and down, which is achieved through the reducer worm gear (bevel gear) and screw nut to clamp the plate, which is the mechanical drive; side rollers are provided on both sides of the lower roller and move at an inclination along the frame guide rail, which is driven by the screw nut worm gear (or bevel gear); all four working rollers use rolling bearings.