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46th ECCA General MeetingPalma de Mallorca (21-22 May 2012)

MARKET TRENDS IN THE USAGE OF METAL PAINTED STRIP FOR ROLLFORMING APPLICATION

Dallan AndreaSales director of Dallan Spa

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What we will cover:

• Short history or Dallan Spa, producer of Rollformers since 1978

• The focus in thin gauge material and specialization in rollformers for prepaintedmaterials

– The technical issues

– The characteristic of prepainted strips for rollforming application

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What we will cover: continued

• The development of the production systems

– 1978 to 1990: production of rollformed sections

– 1990 to 2000: production of finished metal products.

– 2000 –Today: production of finished metal products, complete with assembly and packaging.

• Case Studies: history of thickness range development for aluminium rolling shutters and linear ceilings from 1978.

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Dallan Spa: short history

• Established in 1978

– Engineering and Design

• 1982: Focus on thin materials

– From 0,2 to 2mm

– The markes requires specialists in processing ofprepainted strips

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Focus on customized applications

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1982: Focus on thin materials

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Growthin the international markets

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Facts and figures:

• In 34 years of activity Dallan Spa has:

– Developed and tested over 7000 rollf. sections

– Over 2300 machines and lines have been deliveredin 73 countries

– Turnover 2011: 24,7 M€

– 2011 export rate: 90,4% (53,2% outside the EU)

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Technical issues in the rollformingof coated materials

• The rollforming process

• Peripheral speeds and possible scratching

• Bend radiuses and coating flexibility

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The rollforming process

• The process of progressive bending of a metal strip by using shaped rollers

+ Immagine fiore di profilatura

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Peripheral speeds

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0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

74 78 82 86 90 94 98 102106110114118122126

Neutral speed and peripheral roller speeds (mm/sec)

Periph. Speed upper roll Periph. Speed lower roll

Neutral line speed

Solution

• Development of rollform flowers close to the neutral line to reduce the speed differences

• Use of polishedrollers

• Use of coatings withhigh resistance toscratching and wear(ISO 7784-2)

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Bend radiuses

• Rollforming allows the production of complexshapes

• In the praxis the internal bend radiuses are 80% to 120% of the material thickness, butthey can be even less

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Characteristics of coatings

• The coating must be flexible to allow the bend(EN 13523-7)

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Rollingshutter

T-bar

Trends in the production systemsand requirements for the coatings

• A short history of the development of Dallan production systems to analyze the market trends in the past 30 years.

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1978-1990: rollformers

• Dallan produces rollforming machines on demand.

• From 1982 Dallan focuses on thin materials; this pushes the usage of prepainted strips.

• Market: 90% Italy.

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1990-2000: Rollforming lines

• More and more clients start demandingmachines that allow the production of a completely finished product.

• Dallan specializes in production lines.

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1990-2000: Rollforming lines

• The rollformer is integratedwith additional machines toobtain the finished product

• The customers demand reflectsthe worldwide trend towardsthe Lean Manufactuing model: “As Lean as a Line”

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1990-2000: Focus on applications

• Dedicated lines for specific applications:

– Rolling Shutters (prepainted)

– Linear Ceilings (prepainted)

– T-bar for metal suspended ceilings (prepainted)

– Plasterboard sections (galv. steel)

– Open Cell metal ceilings(prepainted)

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1990-2000: Focus on applications

– Venetian blinds (prepainted)

– Angle profiles for interior finishing

– Door frames (pvc-coated)

• 70% of the products required today to Dallan is made out of coated coils.

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1990-2000: The requirementsfor coated materials

• It is necessary to process special shapes or embossings for manual assembly

– Snap-on manual assembly / joining systems withoutrivets or screws

• More resistance is required to the coatedmaterials

– Bending

– Stretch forming

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1990-2000: The requirementsfor coated materials

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• Example of snap-onassembly on a lightingfixture body 600x600mm

2000-Today: Production Systems

• Customer’s request lead to more advancedproduction systems.

• Once the product is made, it is required tointegrate either

– Assembly

– Packaging and subsequent logistic

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2000-Today: Rolling shutters

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2000-Today: Rolling shutters

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2000-Today: Rolling shutters

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• Main application:

– sun protection

– energy saving

• The slats are inserted and wound on an axis

• The wound up curtain is located insidean aluminium box

2000-Today: Rolling shutters

• Production systems

– Coil to package or coil to window

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2000-Today: Venetian blinds

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2000-Today: Venetian blinds

• Production systems coil to Window

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2000-Today: T-bars

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2000-Today: T-bars

• Lines complete with packaging and palletizing

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2000-Today: New Challenges

• Once the product is in the box it’s no longerpossible to check it

• Higher demand for high and constant qualityof the coated strips

• Request for visual controls of the rollformedproduct before it is in the box

• No lubrication is possible, limited dry times

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Case History: material thicknessin coated materials – Rolling shutters

• Material: aluminium

• Thickness range 0,21 to 0,5

• High competition: Search for reductionproduct cost (lower thickness and band width)

• 268 single original designs

• Only in 2011, 21 new designs have beendeveloped

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Roller shutter slat: a functional section• It must work throughout

the life of the blind (1c/day)

• Domotic application with tubular motor → smoothwinding with low force

• Continuous frictioncoating vs. coating

• Application in hot countries: technical aspects

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Rolling shutters

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0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

0,7

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2012

Trends in the thickness of Aluminium for Rolling Shuttersfor windows (up to 55mm height)

LOW MEDIUM HIGH RES.

Case History 2: Metal Ceilings

• Dallan is focused on metal ceilings since 1982

• Material: prepainted aluminium and steel

• Thickness range: 0,3-0,5 (Aluminium)0,35-0,5 (Steel)

• High competition

• Market subject to architectural trends

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Metal Ceilings

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Metal Ceilings: technical aspects

• It is a static and aesthetical application

• Low weight is a plus for suspended ceilings

• Metal ceilings in the event of fire

• User-friendly assembly is required

• Most common parameter for customers isCost per square meter

• Most common solutions: Cell grid (lay in and clip in), Open Cell, Linear Ceiling

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Linear Ceilings - Aluminium

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0

0,1

0,2

0,3

0,4

0,5

0,6

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2012

Trend of the thickness of the Aluminium used for linear ceilings and Open Cell Ceilings application

LOW HIGH

Thank you

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