Steel Plate Rolling of Spherical Parts


Gulf Quest, The National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico required steel plate rolling of spherical parts.  The Museum which is set to open in late 2012 will use 192 plates to simulate the curved shapes of ships in its displays. Each plate is ¼ inch thick and 44 inches square.  It is formed spherically to a 24 ft. radius.

Spherical parts like these are typically done with a machine called an “English Wheel.”  It can form car fenders or other spherical parts. It is a hand-operated machine whose operator must be a skilled artisan.  It is also a slow process that would be prohibitively expensive.

These plates were formed on modern machinery with the productivity to provide affordable quality parts. This machinery can create sections of a globe and/or spherically curve metal plate cut into the shape of continents.  These sections in turn can be affixed to a frame of curved structural steel sections.

The city of Mobile, Alabama, will be proud to have the first museum dedicated to the Gulf Coast’s rich maritime traditions.

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