Name a “backbone of the industry” type of machine tool, one that seems to create magic every time it runs. We would, of course, be talking about the hydraulic plate rolling machine, the machine that can take a flat sheet of steel and turn it into a perfect cylinder, exact cone, or do conical bending to spec.
How would we ever have large vessels for pressure applications, how would we create water towers, for instance? How about railroad tank cars? We’d be up you-know-what’s creek without that proverbial paddle if we didn’t have plate rolling equipment as it is today. So, let’s examine what’s available to the modern fab shop.
Bud's Machine Tools offers the Durma line-up of hydraulic plate roller machines, where you will find some distinctly different kinds of plate rollers, each doing the job slightly differently than the next.
First up, 4-roll plate rollers. In the world of plate rolling, 4-roll plate rollers sit atop the heap in this machine type. Because of the major capabilities the 4-roll brings to the table, it is a more complex machine than any type 3-roll machine. The Durma 4-roll plate rolls that we carry come in length capacities of 5' long to 26' long, with sheet capacities from 10 gauge to 6" thick.
Some of the major features of the 4-roll plate roller are probably why most 4-roll machines get sold in a very short amount of time:
These are just a few of the major attributes of our 4-roll plate rolling machines, but keep reading, because the 3-roll machines may have something to say as well.
Now you’re in 3-roll plate roll country, and curiously enough, we find out 4-rolls didn’t get all the best attributes after all. First and foremost, 3-roll plate rollers can do the operation of a 4-roll plate roller within its thickness capacity of up to 2 inches, for less up-front investment. In 6' to 14' bending lengths with a thickness capacity from ¼" to 2", the Durma 3-roll plate rolling machines we carry can claim a considerable amount of the bending going on in the fab industry.
Add to this mix variable geometry 3-roll plate rollers and now you have capabilities that cross over into 4-roll territory. The 3-roll variable geometry roll can press out the flat spot on a cylinder and take plate thicknesses to new heights previously only seen in 4-roll designs. Now your capability to process material thickness just went from 2" thick to 6" thick. One design limitation is the new variable geometry 3-roll machines do not roll plate thinner than 2" thick. (That’s probably all right since you would only be buying a variable geometry plate roller if you had thick material to run anyway.)
Well the short answer to that is Bud's Machine Tools in Salt Lake City, Utah. Bud's has been promoting the Durma brand of plate roll for several years now and our team has built up quite a knowledge base of experience in plate rolling. Of course, Bud's is big in the Mountain Time Zone, which is our backyard, but we have also conducted business all around the country and welcome inquiries from the four corners of our great nation. Be your need a new fabrication machine or a previously owned fabrication machine Bud's Machine Tools is your one stop shop for everything fabrication machine.
