Manufacturer improves production flexibility with new roll forming system

Situation

MicroMetl is an independent manufacturer of accessories for commercial heating and cooling equipment. Recent changes in its product mix forced the Indianapolis-based company to consider some major changes to its production process to be able to remain competitive.

“To be competitive, we must produce high-quality products in a cost-effective manner, so we have to continually look for ways to drive down the cost of production,” said Brandon Schultz, chief information officer. “So, with the change in our product mix, we went to our engineers and asked them, ‘How can we be faster and cheaper?’”

Ultimately, the change in product mix required MicroMetl to be more flexible in its production processes. One stumbling block was its roll former, an old machine that could produce a one-size part. Any changes to that part had to be made on the press brake by a highly skilled and highly paid operator.

“We wanted to increase our manufacturing flexibility and capacity to meet our customer demands in a more efficient manner,” said Scott Nelson, senior manufacturing engineer. “Our existing roll former was aged and would not adjust for the flexibility we needed.”

Resolution

The company reached out to The Bradbury Group in 2017 and again in 2018, trying to make an educated decision on what was needed to make its operation more efficient.

“Fast-forward to March 2020, we were approved to purchase a new roll former, but on a tight timeline,” Nelson explained. “Bradbury had a rep at our facility in Indianapolis almost immediately and right at the beginning of the pandemic. Within three weeks, we had the quote from Bradbury on the custom design and a purchase order was sent confirming the sale.”

With assistance from Bradury’s Zack Ledford (sales representative) and Scott Miller (project engineer manager), MicroMetl purchased a 420-3-12P-STR single telescoping roll former to manufacture HVAC panels for knock-down rooftop curb adapters.

“Zack and Scott were in constant communication with me during the design phase, which was crucial to getting the project off on the right foot,” Nelson said. “They were readily available for any questions throughout the process and communicated with us in a timely fashion.”

Nelson worked directly with Bradbury engineers to investigate the possibility of a roll former that could do everything MicroMetl needed. “We visited Bradbury (in Moundridge, Kan.) and they basically took us through a Roll Forming 101 class,” Nelson said. “We spent four days at Bradbury, learning about our machine and roll forming in general. We tested our parts and worked through any programming issues. When it was time to sign off, we had our closing meeting with all the individuals who helped make the project a success during the design and going forward during installation and maintenance.

“With our new roll former, with the push of a button, we can go from producing our smallest part to our largest part in less than two minutes,” Nelson continued. “The roll former is the solution to performing 90 percent of the work we need without using the press brake or outsourcing any work.”

MicroMetl now can manufacture panels with varying size webs, legs, and lips. “We can reduce our changeover time dramatically with the automated system that quickly changes from one curb size to another in a matter of minutes,” Nelson said. “We can feed multiple gauge thicknesses through the roll former without adjusting by using the Bardie cartridge technology. That’s extremely helpful in our deck pan manufacturing, where different gauges may be in the same stack of blanks.”

The company has reduced the number of hours needed on press brakes to manufacture curbs that could not be made on the old roll former. That frees up press brakes (and operators) to form other parts that are currently being outsourced.

“We have reduced the number of hours to complete a job compared to press brakes,” Nelson explained. “We have also reduced overall scrap of knock-down curb adapters because of the precision of the roll former compared to the press brakes.”