Industrial bending rolls repair?

[astro_al]

Hi guys, anyone have any experience of repairing large-ish plate bending rolls, in particular replacing the roller bearings? Also the powered top roll rise/fall is 'worn' but does operate.

I have been offered a set fairly cheaply, is it worth shipping them in? Will I be able to sort them out - presumably they are built to be repaired / maintained?

They are Steco XP in case anyone has any experience of those - 2.5m x 210mm rollers. (For 1/4" x 8' plate).

Are they decent kit? Should I walk away? They're still not 'cheap' (haggling not over yet), but if I go much lower they may as well weigh them in...

Cheers, Al.

 

[Hitch]

Is it hydraulic rise/fall?

Like all this stuff, if its mechanical, its probably fixable, unless they are so bad the housings need work aswell....

 

[astro_al]

Hmm, I don't think they're that bad - I'm free to go and test it out. Works fine apparently, just 'worn'.

Yes, hydraulic rise/fall.

Ta, Al.

 

[Hitch]

Live with it, i dont expect you would use them all that much....?

 

[Welderpaul]

If your getting close to scrap price, might be worth a punt anyway. If you have the work to pay for them, may be worth spending a bit on them to get them sorted out.
If they are worn to the extent that they don't bend evenly, it could take a bit of work to get them right again.

 

[nodeward]

nearly all industrial equipment is built to be repaired, stuff like bearing will be easy to replace (well in theory!) just might take a bit of lateral thinking and elbow grease

 

[gavuk]

Can't imagine the bearings would be cheap for something that heavy duty,hopefully the shaft and housings are not worn .
I changed some at work, the taper locking sleeve alone was £400 for a 5" shaft,if the seller has a manual might be able to get the bearing numbers,any chance they can email you the relevant pages AL?

 

[astro_al]

I highly suspect it is a case of tired old bearings rather than worn housings. As you say Hitch - its just me here, so no huge demands on it - more a case of being able to bend thick ish stock if required (sometimes, small volumes), rather than pumping out curved plate all day long.

I am ASSuming that bending rolls have the same tonnage vs capacity relationships as press brakes? A 1/8" x 100" press brake will do about 3/8" x 60" or 1/4" x 40", so I assume that a set of rolls will cope with twice their full-width capacity at about 40% width???

I.e. will the 1/4" x 100" rolls cope with 1/2" x 40"? Or does it depend more on radius (probably...)?

Good idea Gav - they have really torn the price down for me, but i can't tell if thats because their usual customers can't be bothered with a fixer-upper, or if they have a handle on the bearing cost and are trying to step away. Will find out, ta.

Cheers, Al.

 

[Hitch]

A lot will depend on the radius, you may well get away with running 10mm plate through it, if theres barely a curve to it, but be carefull not to ruin it, going over capacity too far.


Sometimes you can cheat and do it a tiny bit at a time. Id be dubious about working 12mm plate through it..... im no rolling expert mind.

 

[astro_al]

Ah, interesting, so it wouldn't necessarily be rated 'pro-rata' then?

Does 5 or 6 tonnes sound about right? I figure each roller is about a tonne.

Sometimes I sure wish I'd worked in a fabrication environment in the past - going in cold with this kind of kit is scary for the fingers & wallet...

Ta, Al.

 

[gavuk]

where in the country is the seller based AL,maybe near someone who could have a look with you?...I don't know anything about bending rolls,but as a factory fitter know plenty about changing bearings and something about hydraulics,I'm sure there are others on here who would be willing to help,seeing how it is a major investment ,even at scrap prices

 

[Hitch]

Id say no, there is some formula for pressing too, cant remember it. If you have a 3m x 3mm capacity press, doesn't necessarily mean you can (should) do 250mm wide 35mm plate.

Weight wise, think our set is about 5 ton, theyre 3m x 10mm iirc. So probably about 4tonne....