Plate Rolling

Aluminum sheet rolled to a radius with 180 degrees of arc and with straight tangents.

Steel plate rolling of a 2in thick plate into a cone.

Steel plate rolling of 1-1/2 inch plate 45 inches long to a 24 inch inside diameter

Steel plate rolling of beveled 3/4in plate x 5ft wide rolled to a 12 ft. diameter.

Steel plate rolling for Nichols Bridgeway which connects Millennium Park to the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

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On our metal plate rolling equipment of 11 plate rolls and sheet rolls located in Chicago, IL, and Kansas City, MO, we accurately roll steel and aluminum plate into full cylinders, cylinder segments, full cones and cone segments. Chicago Metal can make both concentric and eccentric cones. These forms are often used in metal duct work from light gauge pipe used in ventilation systems to heavy plate used in metal duct work for steel mills and other large manufacturing applications. We also provide our steel and aluminum plate rolling services to form helical shapes for circular stair stringers. We can roll a few pieces in a day or a truckload in a week or sooner. We can roll and ship steel plate 30 feet long and can lift 40 tons. We can roll sheet that is stainless, galvanized, painted, polished, aluminum or mild steel and provide plate rolling of many grades of metal. Rolled into a tube shape, the resulting types of pipe are used as downspouts, conveyor pipe and metal duct work. We have some of the heaviest plate rolling capacity in the Midwest. This capacity complements our heavy structural steel bending capacity.

Sheet Metal Rolling Capacities:

Thickness	Diameter	Max Length
Lock-Seam Pipe 16-24 gauge	3 to 14 inch	10 ft.
Welded Pipe 12-18 gauge	3 to 48 inch	12 ft.
Cylinder Segments 12-28 gauge	3 to any dia.	12 ft.

Steel Plate Rolling Capacities

Note: the narrower the width of the plate entering the machine, the thicker the plate that can be rolled. For example, we can roll 12-foot wide steel plate 2 inches thick or we can roll a 3-foot wide steel plate 12 inches thick. We can also roll thick material to a very tight diameter, for example, 2-inch thick material, 10 inches wide to a 19 inch diameter.

The type and grade of the material will also determine both the largest dimensions that can be rolled and the minimum radii that can be rolled. With harder material, the maximum dimensions will become smaller and the minimum radii will become larger.

Sheet Rolling Additional Value-Added Services

We can roll metal sheet into cylinders, weld or lock-seam them, and slide on angle rings with a Van Stone flange on the pipe. This construction makes the installation in the field easy.

We can also roll perforated metal sheets or sheets with special cut outs. We can attach or leave loose structural steel stiffeners made of angle, channel, beam, bar, tees, and tubing. We also brace steel sections to hold their radius while being shipped (sometimes called “spidering”) or create custom carriers to otherwise facilitate shipment. Our 10 ft. long sections of custom-made pipe save time and money in installation compared to our competitors’ 4 ft. long lengths.

Steel Plate Rolling Value-Added Services

In addition to rolling plate, we can cut it (saw cut, torch cut, plasma cut), bevel it (with a variety of bevels: single, double, with or without a land, etc.), and/or weld it. Our welding methods include MIG, TIG, track and submerged arc welding.

Steel Plate Rolling Applications

Chicago Metal steel plate rolling services are used for metal duct work, circular tank walls, machine housings, piping, stacks, molds, and bridges (with both hot and cold bending to satisfy Department of Transportation requirements).