THE RECENT

H I S T O RY O F D E S I G N
AND SELECTION OF
P L AT E B E N D I N G
MACHINES 
Plate Bending Rolls – Pre-1950’s

By Russell Barnshaw 

The curving of wrought iron plate by passing a plate through a set of rollers
probably dates back to the late 18th Century when Henry Cort, an English iron
master rolled barrel hoops in the 1780's. The early machines would be small and
could be directly hand driven or by a geared handle to give some mechanical
advantage.

The introduction of the steam engine into plate bending factory production,
where the driving power was transmitted from the steam engine into the
workshop via a line shaft, was the first huge step forward, meaning the power
requirement no longer relied on the strength of a human-being or an oxen, or
even the force of harnessed wind.

This new source of power enabled plate bending to move towards thicker plate
being rolled and not just thin sheets by a hand driven roller. Plates could also be
pressed to a curved shape using a water press of the Joseph Bramah design
patented in 1795 which was used by boiler makers in the 19th century.

The first electric motors capable of turning machinery arrived in the 1830's and
enabled industrial processes to be carried out without the power transmitted from
a steam engine or by hydraulic pressure. The plate bending machines would then
be converted from line shaft driven to being driven by an electric motor, initially
using DC current and later by an AC supply. A series wound DC motor develops
its highest torque at low speed and was used to power trams. The use of electric
motors and tram starters was the second huge step forward.

The introduction of electric motors resulted initially in the plate bending rolls,
which were previously driven by steam powered line shaft, now being simply
converted. Many plate bending machines, even in the 1940's, could be seen that
were originally line shaft driven using a flat belt and had been subsequently
retro-fitted with its own electric motor.
The larger plate bending machines were generally of the pyramid type shown
below in figure 1 although heavier initial pinch machines were made.

The initial pinch principal shown below in figure 2, was commonly used for light
sheet and hand driven as can be seen in the photograph in figure 3. This roll
arrangement goes back to the 19th century.
These were used by sheet metal workers for chimneys and ducting of air and
would have typically had 80mm diameter rolls for rolling plate up to 1mm thick.

The most common design for heavier plate bending rolls was the pyramid roll
layout, and the position of the top roll would initially be by a hand screw which
could be geared, followed by a powered drive. Initially this was by line shaft
using a power transfer lever and later by a separate electric motor.

It is worth a mention at this point about the use of curved plate for use as a
cylinder or vessel which is probably one of the main applications, and for many
companies, the only application. A plate rolled into a cylinder and then fitted
with a base plate to form an open top tank has typically 50% less length of joint
than a rectangular shaped tank.

In the pre-1950's, before welding, tanks were riveted using a suitable gasket
material and the shorter length of the edges would be a huge cost saving. For a
given length of plate, the circular shape encloses a larger area than any other
shape and this creates an advantage both for tank and vessel design.
 The principal problem with the pyramid-style plate bending rolls is the flat
section on each end of the plate, resulting from the distance between the two
bottom rolls. The length of these flat ends would naturally be approximately
equal to the distance between the bottom and centre roll. This distance would be
larger when rolling a plate to a large diameter cylinder and smaller when rolling a
plate to small diameter cylinder. The most straight forward way to deal with this
was to cut the flat ends off each end after the first stage of the rolling work and
then put the plate back into the plate rolling machine and continue to roll the
plate until it formed a cylinder.

There were problems to doing it by this method which included:

 The cost of cutting off these flat ends and the waste of material. The flat ends were
cut off and the curved plate put back in the rolls.
 The two end sections that would be typically 200mm (8 inches) long would remain
as they were and not be rolled to the smaller diameter required which could end up with a
pear shaped cylinder as shown in figure 4 which was not ideal.

The plate rollers and fabricators came up with various technical solutions to these
problems.  In order to deal with this the cylinder would have to be re-rolled after
welding to improve the circularity. This process does not take much time but
must be considered as an additional process and therefore adds time to a job. 

The ends of the plate could be pre-bent on a heavy press brake using a small Vee
as shown in figures 5a and 5b. This is where the ends of the plate are formed to a
slightly larger radius than the final size as the ends would bend in a little more
when again passed through the rolls.

Another method employed was the use of setter plates. These were heavy plates
that had been rolled or pressed to a tight radius and used as shown in Figures 6a
and 6b.

When in the position as shown in figures the setter plate would be rolled through
the plate rolls for about 300mm (12 inches) and the top roll would roll the plate
into the approximate shaped of the setter plate resulting in the ends being pre-
bent to size.
Two or three setter plates would be curved to different radii to suit the diameter
of the cylinder required. This method was quite quick and much faster than using
a press brake and would allow some adjustment of the curvature of the set ends. 
The setter plate being much thicker than the plate to be rolled (the job plate)
would not bend and the driving of the plate forward in the direction of the arrows
would drive the setter plate through the machine and taking the job plate with it
and the top roll would in effect push the thinner job plate into the shape of the
thick setter plate.

This takes us up to the 1950's before the introduction of hydraulics and the start
of the modern era in plate roll design…
September 12th, 2018
Plate Bending Rolls – 1950-1970

By Russell Barnshaw

Prior to reading this it would be worth reading the short history article about plate
bending rolls as it takes us up the 1950’s.

The original power rolls were generally of the Pyramid Type (Figure 1).
This design had the problem regarding the flat ends. The length of plate spanning
from the point it touches the top roll to the point it touches the bottom roll is not
bent.  The old plate bending operators did however come up with ways to deal
with this problem and some of them are described in the ‘The Recent History of
Design and Selection of Plate Bending Machines’ (Part 1)

The Engineering design problem being faced in the late 1950's was the need
for very thick curved plate which was required for pressure vessels for use in the
power and chemical industries, and the forces required resulted in the need for
huge electric motors and gear boxes.

The introduction of hydraulics into the design of plate bending machines then
became a necessity and a natural transition.  Hydraulic cylinders had been used in
plate pressing in the 19th century and so the technology was already available in
the marketplace. The advantage of hydraulics is that you can apply a huge force
and have full control of the amount of this force by simply controlling the
pressure in a hydraulic cylinder or ram, as it is sometimes called. It also had the
advantage of being able to stop the bending instantly.
The use of hydraulics enabled users to ensure the plate bending machine was not
overloaded by having a relief value in the circuit set at a specified pressure that
would ensure the machine was not damaged during bending.  These features
made the machine easier to operate and control.

The use of roller bearings was introduced, and just the same as the introduction
of hydraulics, they had previously been in use since the late 19th century when
Henry Timken, who was a railway carriage maker from St Louis in the USA,
patented the roller bearing in 1898.

In the late 1950's the use of hydraulics was used and a double pinch 4-roll design
made in the 1960's as shown in figure 2.

There was another change at about this same time; the frames of most plate
bending machine rolls were made from iron castings which could be made very
strong and substantial but were not good at taking impact or shock load. They
were also difficult to repair satisfactorily if the frame cracks. It was therefore a
natural progression to move into fabricated steel frames. This process was
accelerated by the introduction of regulation regarding the pollution from iron
foundries in Western Europe in the 1960's.

The average production foundry, with existing patterns, could sand cast a plate
bending machine frame using two men in two days and so was a very economical
way to produce the cast frame of the plate roll. They were however faced with
having to install expensive extraction and filter equipment which made the
process uneconomic to continue, so fabricated frames became the standard from
the early 1960's.

All these changes added up to a big step forward for plate bending. The drive was
still mechanical, using cardan shafts to transmit torque and rotation which cannot
be linked up directly because of the movement of the two driven rolls.

The 4 roll double pinch plate bending machine design enabled the plate to be pre-
bent in the rolls, and having the second outer roll it was possible to pre-bend both
ends of the plate without the need to withdraw the plate and turn it around.

The development continued in the 1960’s with the use of hydraulic motors that
gave you a high starting torque and also easier control of the rotation speed by
changing the flow volume from the pump.  There were a number of ways this
was done and the use of an axial piston pumps was one design where you simply 
adjusted the angle of squash so the pump that could go from maximum volume
per minute speed to zero/total stop in an instant.

Towards the end of the 1960’s, an alternative design was introduced which was
the 3 Roll double pinch plate bending machine.  This arrangement used a
planetary system of gears and the two bottom rolls pivoted on a swing arm
mechanism. The top roll was in a fixed position as was the drive gear wheel to
the two planetary gears.  It was then straight forward to install a chain drive to
the top roll.  This driven gear was powered by a hydraulic motor with variable
speed.
Similar to the 4-roll double pinch plate bending machine, this design also
allowed pre-bending both ends without turning the plate.  3 roll drive and
variable speed was another huge step forward and is the design that many
medium size machines use today. This is shown if Figure 3.

Over a period of 20 years, the design of plate bending machines had moved from
an all-mechanical gearbox drive, usually using phosphor bronze bearings and
cast iron frames with a pyramid design, to one using hydraulics cylinders with
moving rolls held in position using roller bearings and driven by hydraulic
motors with a variable speed.
September 12th, 2018
Plate Bending Rolls – 1970 Onwards

By Russell Barnshaw

Prior to reading this it would be worth reading the two short history articles about
plate bending rolls selection which take it up the 1970’s.

In the period since the early 1970's we have seen further developments.

All 3 rolls on larger plate bending machines were now very often driven by
independent hydraulic motors.

This eliminated the need for a clutch and became a more suitable design for
heavier machines. This arrangement is shown in figure 1.
There was also the introduction of variable geometry design, where the layout is
similar to the pyramid roll with the top roll moving vertically but the two bottom
rolls can also move horizontally. This layout is shown in figure 2.
This arrangement allowed for just the top roll to be rotary driven as shown in
figure 2 or all 3 rolls  rotary driven as shown in figure 3.
There has also been considerable development in the use of cnc for most plate
bending roll manufacturers.  Computer controlled machinery has been in
extensive use for well over 30 years. Its use in plate bending and section bending
is difficult because of the spring back problem and because no two pieces of steel
behave exactly the same.  This should not put anyone off the use of cnc, and
where you have a quantity of the same size cylinders to make, it is often the best
way to go.

With all of these developments in plate bending machinery, the question now is,
which one of the different types/designs one is the best?

The answer is that they are all good to do certain jobs, and which one you select
depends on the type of work you want to do on the machine, and what other
existing machines you have at your workshop.

The old pyramid machine could still be used today but is no longer made in the
West. Their use with setter plates in a low wage economy by a company with
only a little capital would work well for plates up to 12mm.
In the modern high wage economy it is better to use modern hydraulic plate
bending machines of the types described in this series of articles.

The swing arm design, with all three rolls driven by a single hydraulic motor
works well for plate bending up to 20mm thick, but for thicker plate it is better to
have all three rolls driven independently with separated hydraulic motors.

There are various designs as to how the load is applied to the plate to be rolled. 
The bottom rolls can be mounted in slides, or the rolls can move on a swing arm
with a pivot at one end that is fixed. 

There can be a yoke with a fixed pivot on one end, followed by the roll and some
further distance out you can attach the cylinder.  This yoke arrangement gives
some mechanical advantage and enables a smaller cylinder to be used.

The differing designs are all fine as long as the designer makes these mechanisms
strong enough to withstand the forces involved and the bearings are protected
from the falling mill scale which is a very hard material and much harder than
they material of type plate that it has flaked off from.

The variable geometry plate bending machines can give you a big rolling
capacity by moving the rolls to their maximum distance, and are less expensive
in comparison, but if you want also to roll thinner plate and roll cones then there
is a need for all three rolls to be driven. 

Plate bending machines can also roll cones figure 4, and if this is a factor in the
machine selection then there will be a need to ensure the rolls are hardened and
the cone block is made from a very hard material and strongly anchored to the
machine.
There are many aspects about a plate bending roll selection, too many to be
completely covered these articles, but one feature that deserves a mention at this
stage is the rolls themselves.

It is standard practice to crown the rolls to allow for deflection figure 5.  The
rolls will naturally deflect between the bearings therefore designers must allow
for this.  The manufacture will calculate the amount based on an average so it is
best to let them know what you typically wish to bend on the machine.
Another important factor in selecting a plate bending machine is the hardness of
the rolls, it is recommended to pay the extra and have induction hardened rolls.
Many manufacturers now do this automatically as standard.

Barnshaws and our history of plate bending machine purchases

Here at Barnshaws we have used over 12 manufacturers and types of plate rolls
and we have also made our own hydraulic plate rolls of special design.

We have found all the plate bending machine manufacturers to be fair and
straight forward to deal with, and all have offered an excellent after-sales service
to ensure we keep our machines running.

When ordering a plate bending machine, and especially a heavy expensive

machine you should always inspect and test bend the machine before you take
delivery.

If a machine is required to roll cones, then asking for a test bend of a cone by
way of insisting the manufacturer have one cut to a designated size the purchaser
may require, and to test bend whilst the purchaser is there to witness it, before the
machine leaves the workshop, is highly recommended.

The marketplace is starting to see the more common use now of higher yield
steel, for example S355 rather than S275 which is 39% higher in yield.  This
needs to be borne in mind as many of the plate bending capacity graphs/tables
often for lower yield plate.  In simple terms, if the yield goes up 40% you need
40% more force to bend it.

The other significant factor when determining capacity is the length of the plate
being rolled figure 6 & 7. It can go from a plate equal to the full length of the roll
such as 3m (10ft) to a plate that is very short in length say only 500mm (40
inches) long.  The maximum bending moment on the top roll that occurs in the
centre of the top roll is double the value for a point load that for a uniformly
distributed load which is the case when rolling a plate that is equal in width to the
length of the plate roll.

The section modulus of a plate is proportional to the width (L) being rolled and
the square of the thickness, using the formula LxT²/6.  The section modules you
can roll when using a very short length is half of this LxT²/12.  This has to be
taken into consideration when you product a capacity graph or chart, some
manufacturers use graphs which make allowance for this and some use a scale of
reduction factors.  These formulae can be used to check the manufacturer is
specifying the machine correctly.

This article would not be complete without discussing pre-bending capacity.

It is worth saying right from the start that to bend a piece of plate a bending
moment needs to be applied which is a force multiplied by a distance i.e. if the
distance is nil you need an infinite force. For thin plate it is possible to set the
ends so that for all practical purposes the plate appears to be bent to the end.

When the plates go thicker to around 50mm thick, the geometry of the situation
comes into the equation. At some point the user must decide how much force
they wish to apply to pre-bend a plate, and it has to be remembered that plates
now have a higher yield which means a higher directly proportional force. The
more force selected, the larger the cylinders, and more importantly the larger the
top roll diameter, which has a section modulus that is proportional to the cube of
its diameter (d3).  The minimum diameter that can be rolled down to, allowing
for springback is approximately 1.4 x the top roll diameter. 

It is always recommended to take an experienced plate bending machine operator

to perform the test bends in the manufacturer’s premises.
 LA HISTORIA
RECIENTE DEL
DISEÑO Y
SELECCIÓN DE
MÁQUINAS DE
DOBLADO DE
PLACAS
12 de septiembre de 2018
Rodillos para doblar placas - Pre-1950

Por Russell Barnshaw 

La curvatura de la placa de hierro forjado al pasar una placa a través de un

conjunto de rodillos probablemente se remonta a finales del siglo XVIII cuando
Henry Cort, un maestro de hierro inglés rodó aros de barril en la década de
1780. Las primeras máquinas serían pequeñas y podrían accionarse directamente
a mano o con un mango con engranajes para dar alguna ventaja mecánica.

La introducción de la máquina de vapor en la producción de la fábrica de doblado

de placas, donde la potencia de transmisión se transmitía desde la máquina de
vapor al taller a través de un eje de línea, fue el primer gran paso adelante, lo que
significa que el requisito de potencia ya no se basaba en la fuerza de un ser
humano. - ser o un buey, o incluso la fuerza del viento enjaezado.

Esta nueva fuente de poder permitió que la flexión de la placa se moviera hacia
una placa más gruesa que se enrolla y no solo por láminas delgadas con un
rodillo manual. Las planchas también se pueden presionar a una forma curva
usando una prensa de agua del diseño de Joseph Bramah patentado en 1795 que
fue utilizado por los fabricantes de calderas en el siglo XIX.
Los primeros motores eléctricos capaces de girar maquinaria llegaron en la
década de 1830 y permitieron llevar a cabo procesos industriales sin la potencia
transmitida desde una máquina de vapor o por presión hidráulica. Las máquinas
dobladoras de placas se convertirían de un eje de línea impulsado a un motor
eléctrico, inicialmente utilizando corriente continua y luego un suministro de
corriente alterna. Un motor DC de bobinado en serie desarrolla su mayor torque a
baja velocidad y se utilizó para alimentar tranvías. El uso de motores eléctricos y
arrancadores de tranvía fue el segundo gran paso adelante.

La introducción de motores eléctricos dio como resultado inicialmente que los

rodillos de flexión de placas, que antes eran accionados por un eje de línea
alimentado por vapor, ahora se convertían simplemente. Se podía ver que muchas
máquinas de doblado de placas, incluso en la década de 1940, originalmente eran
accionadas por un eje lineal con una correa plana y que posteriormente habían
sido equipadas con su propio motor eléctrico.

Las máquinas plegadoras de placas más grandes generalmente eran del tipo de
pirámide que se muestra a continuación en la figura 1, aunque se fabricaron
máquinas de pellizco iniciales más pesadas.
El principio de pellizco inicial que se muestra a continuación en la figura 2, se
usaba comúnmente para la hoja de luz y se manejaba a mano, como se puede ver
en la fotografía de la figura 3. Esta disposición del rollo se remonta al siglo XIX.
Estos fueron utilizados por los trabajadores de la chapa para chimeneas y
conductos de aire y normalmente tendrían rollos de 80 mm de diámetro para
laminado de hasta 1 mm de espesor.

El diseño más común para los rodillos de doblado de placas más pesados fue el
diseño del rodillo piramidal, y la posición del rodillo superior inicialmente sería
mediante un tornillo manual que podría ser engranado, seguido de un
accionamiento motorizado. Inicialmente, esto fue por eje de línea usando una
palanca de transferencia de potencia y luego por un motor eléctrico separado.

Vale la pena mencionar en este punto sobre el uso de placa curva para usar como
cilindro o recipiente, que es probablemente una de las principales aplicaciones, y
para muchas empresas, la única aplicación. Una placa enrollada en un cilindro y
luego equipada con una placa base para formar un tanque superior abierto tiene
típicamente un 50% menos de longitud de unión que un tanque de forma
rectangular.
 Antes de la década de 1950, antes de soldar, los tanques se remachaban con un
material de junta adecuado y la longitud más corta de los bordes supondría un
gran ahorro de costos. Para una longitud de placa dada, la forma circular encierra
un área más grande que cualquier otra forma y esto crea una ventaja tanto para el
diseño del tanque como del recipiente.

El principal problema con los rodillos de doblado de placas de estilo piramidal es

la sección plana en cada extremo de la placa, como resultado de la distancia entre
los dos rodillos inferiores. La longitud de estos extremos planos sería,
naturalmente, aproximadamente igual a la distancia entre el rodillo inferior y el
central. Esta distancia sería mayor al rodar una placa a un cilindro de gran
diámetro y menor al rodar una placa a un cilindro de pequeño diámetro. La forma
más directa de lidiar con esto fue cortar los extremos planos de cada extremo
después de la primera etapa del trabajo de laminación y luego volver a colocar la
placa en la máquina de laminación de placas y continuar enrollando la placa hasta
que se forme un cilindro.

Hubo problemas para hacerlo por este método que incluía:

 El costo de cortar estos extremos planos y el desperdicio de material. Se cortaron

los extremos planos y la placa curva se volvió a colocar en los rollos.
 Las dos secciones finales que serían típicamente de 200 mm (8 pulgadas) de largo
permanecerían como estaban y no se enrollarían al diámetro menor requerido, lo que podría
terminar con un cilindro en forma de pera como se muestra en la figura 4, que no era ideal.
Los rodillos de placa y los fabricantes idearon varias soluciones técnicas para
estos problemas. Para hacer frente a esto, el cilindro tendría que volverse a
enrollar después de soldar para mejorar la circularidad. Este proceso no lleva
mucho tiempo, pero debe considerarse como un proceso adicional y, por lo tanto,
agrega tiempo a un trabajo. 

Los extremos de la placa se pueden doblar previamente en una prensa de freno

pesada usando una pequeña Vee como se muestra en las figuras 5a y 5b. Aquí es
donde los extremos de la placa se forman en un radio ligeramente mayor que el
tamaño final, ya que los extremos se doblarían un poco más cuando pasaran
nuevamente por los rodillos.
 

Otro método empleado fue el uso de placas setter. Estas eran placas pesadas que
habían sido enrolladas o presionadas a un radio estrecho y utilizadas como se
muestra en las Figuras 6a y 6b.

Cuando se encuentre en la posición que se muestra en las figuras, la placa de

establecimiento se enrollará a través de los rodillos de la placa durante
aproximadamente 300 mm (12 pulgadas) y el rodillo superior enrollará la placa
en la forma aproximada de la placa de establecimiento, lo que provocará que los
extremos se doblen previamente a Talla.
Dos o tres placas de ajuste se curvarían a diferentes radios para adaptarse al
diámetro del cilindro requerido. Este método fue bastante rápido y mucho más
rápido que usar una prensa plegadora y permitiría algún ajuste de la curvatura de
los extremos establecidos. La placa de establecimiento es mucho más gruesa que
la placa que se va a enrollar (la placa de trabajo) no se dobla y la conducción de
la placa hacia adelante en la dirección de las flechas conduciría la placa de
establecimiento a través de la máquina y la llevaría con la placa de trabajo. el
rollo superior empujaría en efecto la placa de trabajo más delgada en la forma de
la placa de preparación gruesa.

Esto nos lleva a la década de 1950 antes de la introducción de la hidráulica y el

comienzo de la era moderna en el diseño de rodillos de placa ...
12 de septiembre de 2018
Rodillos para doblar placas - 1950-1970

Por Russell Barnshaw

Antes de leer esto, valdría la pena leer el breve artículo de historia sobre los
rodillos de doblado de placas, ya que nos lleva a la década de 1950.

Los rollos de poder originales generalmente eran del tipo Pirámide (Figura 1).
Este diseño tenía el problema con respecto a los extremos planos. La longitud de
la placa que abarca desde el punto que toca el rodillo superior hasta el punto que
toca el rodillo inferior no está doblada. Sin embargo, los antiguos operadores de
doblado de planchas encontraron formas de abordar este problema y algunos de
ellos se describen en 'La historia reciente del diseño y la selección de máquinas
de doblado de planchas' (Parte 1)

El problema de diseño de ingeniería que se enfrentaba a fines de la década de

1950 era la necesidad de una placa curva muy gruesa que se requería para los
recipientes a presión para su uso en las industrias de energía y química, y las
fuerzas requeridas resultaron en la necesidad de enormes motores eléctricos y
cajas de engranajes.

La introducción de la hidráulica en el diseño de máquinas dobladoras de placas

se convirtió en una necesidad y en una transición natural. Los cilindros
hidráulicos se habían utilizado en el prensado de placas en el siglo XIX, por lo
que la tecnología ya estaba disponible en el mercado. La ventaja del sistema
hidráulico es que puede aplicar una fuerza enorme y tener un control total de la
cantidad de esta fuerza simplemente controlando la presión en un cilindro
hidráulico o pistón, como a veces se le llama. También tenía la ventaja de poder
detener la flexión al instante.

El uso del sistema hidráulico permitió a los usuarios garantizar que la máquina
dobladora de placas no se sobrecargara al tener un valor de alivio en el circuito
configurado a una presión especificada que garantizaría que la máquina no se
dañara durante la flexión. Estas características hicieron que la máquina fuera más
fácil de operar y controlar.

Se introdujo el uso de rodamientos de rodillos, y al igual que la introducción de

la hidráulica, habían estado en uso desde fines del siglo XIX cuando Henry
Timken, que era un fabricante de vagones de ferrocarril de St. Louis en los
Estados Unidos, patentó el rodamiento de rodillos. en 1898.

A fines de la década de 1950 se utilizó el sistema hidráulico y se hizo un diseño

de 4 rodillos de doble pellizco en la década de 1960 como se muestra en la figura
2.
Hubo otro cambio aproximadamente al mismo tiempo; Los bastidores de la
mayoría de los rodillos de la máquina dobladora de planchas estaban hechos de
fundición de hierro, que podían hacerse muy fuertes y sustanciales, pero no eran
buenos para soportar impactos o cargas de choque. También fueron difíciles de
reparar satisfactoriamente si el marco se agrieta. Por lo tanto, fue una progresión
natural pasar a marcos de acero fabricados. Este proceso se aceleró con la
introducción de la regulación sobre la contaminación de las fundiciones de hierro
en Europa occidental en la década de 1960.

La fundición de producción promedio, con los patrones existentes, podía moldear

en arena un marco de máquina dobladora de placas con dos hombres en dos días
y, por lo tanto, era una forma muy económica de producir el marco fundido del
rollo de placa. Sin embargo, tuvieron que instalar costosos equipos de extracción
y filtro que hicieron que el proceso no fuera económico para continuar, por lo
que los marcos fabricados se convirtieron en el estándar desde principios de la
década de 1960.

Todos estos cambios se sumaron a un gran paso adelante para la flexión de

placas. El accionamiento seguía siendo mecánico, utilizando ejes cardán para
transmitir el par y la rotación, que no pueden vincularse directamente debido al
movimiento de los dos rodillos impulsados.

El diseño de la máquina dobladora de placas de doble rodillo de 4 rodillos

permitió que la placa se doblara previamente en los rodillos, y al tener el segundo
rodillo exterior fue posible doblar previamente ambos extremos de la placa sin la
necesidad de retirar la placa y girarla .

El desarrollo continuó en la década de 1960 con el uso de motores hidráulicos

que le dieron un alto par de arranque y también un control más fácil de la
velocidad de rotación al cambiar el volumen de flujo de la bomba. Hubo varias
formas en que esto se hizo y el uso de bombas de pistones axiales fue un diseño
en el que simplemente ajustó el ángulo de la calabaza para que la bomba pudiera
pasar del volumen máximo por minuto a cero / parada total en un instante.
Hacia finales de la década de 1960, se introdujo un diseño alternativo que era la
máquina dobladora de placas de doble rodillo de 3 rodillos. Esta disposición
utilizaba un sistema planetario de engranajes y los dos rodillos inferiores giraban
sobre un mecanismo de brazo oscilante. El rodillo superior estaba en una
posición fija, al igual que la rueda dentada motriz de los dos engranajes
planetarios. Luego fue sencillo instalar una transmisión por cadena en el rodillo
superior. Este engranaje accionado fue accionado por un motor hidráulico con
velocidad variable.

Similar a la máquina dobladora de placa de doble rodillo de 4 rodillos, este

diseño también permitió doblar previamente ambos extremos sin girar la
placa. La transmisión de 3 rodillos y la velocidad variable fue otro gran paso
adelante y es el diseño que muchas máquinas de tamaño mediano usan hoy en
día. Esto se muestra si la Figura 3.

Durante un período de 20 años, el diseño de las máquinas dobladoras de planchas

pasó de una transmisión de caja de engranajes totalmente mecánica, que
usualmente usaba cojinetes de bronce fosforoso y marcos de hierro fundido con
un diseño piramidal, a uno que usaba cilindros hidráulicos con rodillos móviles
sostenidos en posición usando un rodillo rodamientos y accionados por motores
hidráulicos con una velocidad variable.