A plate roll bends flat plate into a curve by passing it between three or four rolls and adjusting their position until the plate takes the radius. A full pass closes the plate into a cylinder ready for its longitudinal weld; a partial pass produces a curved segment; offset rolls produce a cone. It is how tank shells, column casings, large ducts and curved cladding are made from flat material, and it is the first step in most of our industrial fabrication.
What gets rolled
- Shells for storage tanks, pressure vessels and process equipment in stainless and carbon steel.
- Column wraps, curved cladding panels and radiused feature walls in stainless steel and aluminium.
- Large-diameter ducting, chimneys, hoppers and transition cones.
- Curved segments for canopies, bollards, planters and architectural metalwork.
Why roll in-house
Rolling is where a fabrication's accuracy is set. A shell that is out of round makes every later weld harder and every nozzle sit wrong. Rolling the plate ourselves, from plate we have cut to length ourselves, means the radius is checked against the drawing before the shell goes to the welding bay, and the same team is answerable for the fit. Cones and segments are rolled to template, and pre-bending the plate ends removes the flat that a simple roll leaves at the seam.
Rolled work feeds directly into our tank, vessel and architectural fabrication, and stainless shells continue to pickling, passivation or polishing.
From your drawing to a rolled shell
- Send the drawing with the material, thickness, diameter or radius and the length of the shell or segment.
- We confirm the plate, cut it to the developed size and pre-bend the ends where a closed shell is needed.
- The plate is rolled to radius, checked against the drawing or template, and tack-fitted if it will be welded.
- Shells and segments go on to welding, nozzle fitting and finishing in the same order — or are delivered as rolled.