Leveling: Making Metal Flat
Nicholas Miller, Technical Director, ARKU Coil Systems
PRESENTED BY
Agenda
What is Leveling
Flatness / Stress relief
(Brief) Theory
Applications
‐ Aerospace
‐ Defense
Benefits
Design
Alternatives
Questions
Who is ARKU?
Parts leveling Coil lines
Deburring and rounding machines Service
What is leveling?
Flatness?
Stress relief
Stress relief
Disambiguation
Leveling
Straightening
Flattening
Before / after
Leveling in Action - Video
• https://youtu.be/nQXpPw6BnZM
Why level?
Industries are demanding tighter tolerances
Leveling is widely used in a variety of industries
Flatness defects in the Coil
Coilset Crossbow Twist
Caused during recoiling Caused during cooling Caused by uneven strip
tension during recoiling
Camber Edge waves einseitige Wellen
One-sided waves Mittenwellen
Center buckles
Cause: slitting narrow strips Cause: worn roll stands, Cause: worn roll stands, Cause: worn roll stands,
having uneven pull internal stress from rolling, internal stress from rolling, internal stress from rolling,
Thickness variation Thickness variation Thickness variation
Flatness defects are caused by
Milling Slitting Parts production
During Sheet and Coil Slitting causes stress and During parts production:
product deformation along the
1. Residual stress is relieved
cutting edge. Recoiling can
cause different shape 2. New stress can be added to
issues like camber, material
buckles and edge
waves,…
This stress results in unflat parts.
Material Science Review
Fundamentals of roller leveling
Leveling is bending
The right leveler choice
Residual stress and numbers of leveling rollers Leveling done well:
Residual stress • Maximum flatness
• Minimum residual stress
• No surface issues
Wide nesting
Close nesting
Numbers of leveling rollers
Main principle of roller leveling
Stress curve during leveling process
FEM - Simulation of the leveling process
Leveler setting
Leveler with bank adjustment – the whole leveling unit is moving
There are two setting required:
On the Inlet you choose a value
below material thickness.
On the Outlet, in general the setting
is material thickness
Aerospace Application Video
Armor plate
Size matters (and so does strenght)
• We can level up to 2.25” in thickness.
• Forces - However, we need to consider what kind of effect these immense force have
on the machine.
• Therefore we offer two different version of levelers; mechanical and hydraulic
• Determining factors for deciding on hydraulic or mechanical?
• Material thickness
• Yield strength
• Customer tolerances
Gap Control Video
https://youtu.be/sGZ9jAPyaWg
Basic design of a (hydraulic) leveler
Why roller level?
Reduces production costs
Increases quality/consistency (reproducible results)
Increases safety for operators
Shorter processing times
Salvage scrap materials
Meet customer tolerances
Optimize downstream processing (welding/bending)
How would you get these parts flat?
Disadvantages
What do these
methods have in
common?
They require
They all disregard They are
They are slow experienced
stress relief inconsistent
operators
Leveling methods
Improvements due to leveling
Welding
Robot welding
Bending
Assemblies
Questions?
