From time to time customers are looking to roll sheets or plates (either aluminum or steel) with cutouts. Would it be for decorative purposes or mechanical requirements these always present challenges for plate rolling companies.
For example if there are cutouts at the end of the sheet or plate, they will not follow the curve and will be mostly sticking out straight which will be not acceptable.
Another example would be to have extensive amount of cutouts covering most of the sheet or plate surface. This will produce buckling and deforming spaces in between cutouts during the rolling process and the rolled piece will be unusable.
Solution to avoid all the deformation problems during rolling aluminum sheets or steel plates with cutouts is to use “stich-cutting” of the cutouts.
What does “stich-cutting” means? It means to cut small slit like holes all-around of the parameter of each cutout (in a way like stitching with the thread the outline of the shape which will need to be cut out) but still leaving the material of the future cutout in place and finish cutting it out after the plate or sheet is rolled to the desired radius or diameter.
Rolling this pipe with cutouts removed before would result with the end of the pipe being deformed and not holding desired shape.
In a matter of speaking, keeping the cutouts in the sheet or plate and having them only stich-cut before the rolling process allows for the smooth rolling of the required part without deformation and allows easy removal of cutouts after part is rolled without damaging the final shape.
Chicago Metal Rolled Products rolls aluminum sheet with the shortest lead time in the industry. Same-day shipping available. Contact us for a fast and accurate quote.
