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As the solar power industry continues to grow and thrive, so does the necessity of making the installation of solar modules more efficient and process more cost effective. That is where Roller Die + Forming comes in to play. When customers approach us with a requirement or design request, our technical services team brainstorms with the customer to conceive a racking solution that meets their cost, as well as their system needs. Our customers recognize there are a variety of benefits roll formed racking components offer. Roller Die’s priority is to assure collectively we create the best solution.
Aluminum extrusions were the racking material of choice for years due to the low die cost, light weight, and corrosive resistance. However, for the solar industry to be competitive and grow, there was tremendous market pressure for the cost per watt to approach traditional fossil fuel costs one of the key cost reduction was the introduction of custom and standard steel profiles produced by the die roll forming process.
The advantage of roll forming is the in-line value added operation such as hole punching, stiffening ribs, extruded holes and unique end detail as examples. All of these are incorporated into the process by innovative toll design and build, yielding a “finished” component ready for assembly. Unlike roll forming, all of the aforementioned value added operations on an extrusion have to be performed in secondary operations, increasing cost as well as lead DMES. That is why many customers call the in-line roll formed functions “freebies.”
The steel producers have developed a new generation of light weight structural material which can accommodate pre-galvanized coatings such as G-140, G-165, G-235 and above alleviating fears about corrosion. In the harshest of environments or where rolled posts are driven into the ground there is always the option of roll forming carbon steel and then galvanizing to ASTM A 123.
Roller Die + Forming is truly unique in the industry over our 65 year history, we have build a library of standard section profiles some 1200 strong available for any customer to use free. Most of the shapes are common to the solar industry, such as Ree’s, Cee’s, and hats for ground mounts and trackers, and Cee’s for carports. We have an in-house tool room which augments the standard tolling by design, then building complex punching dies to accommodate and size module and array layout.
The key to success in crafting a racking solution is the upfront preparation with fully understanding the customers’ expectations and prerequisites. What are the critical necessities the racking solution must have and co-currently engineer the profile, hole size/locations and material type from there. The roll forming process is still truly a mystery to many, but certainly on a fast paced trajectory. To learn more about the roll forming process itself, as well as the key design aspects to be taken into consideration, please click here.
At Roller Die + Forming, we consider ourselves as a leader in the solar racking component industry servicing most of the prominent companies in our 5 locations across the United States. We have over 100 roll forming mills in our strategically located facilities, supported by a strong experienced technical team, with most having 25-35 years of experience. We are justly differentiated from our competitors as the ONLY roll former to have a vast portfolio of standard tooling supported by an in-house designs/building custom tool room with 65 years of experience.
To learn more about Roller Die + Forming or have us review a quote package with a technical consultation please contact us today.