GalvaoMachine
Plastic
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
has anyone built there own set of dies for forming flighting? how did you go about this? looking at doing this in house next year on a 50-100 ton vertical press
thank you
thank you
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Screw conveyor flight forming
- Thread starter GalvaoMachine
- Start date
- Replies 20
- Views 619
GalvaoMachine
Plastic
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
1/2 ar plate mostly , 12x12 and 14x14, i would like to do 3/4 ar 14x14 and 1'' mild 14x14 if it realistic to do these in house
all sectional flights , alot of the machines i have seen online are small cylinders but i have not found much capacity info yet
all sectional flights , alot of the machines i have seen online are small cylinders but i have not found much capacity info yet
RC Mech
Stainless
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2014
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
Your press tonnage is too low for 3/4” AR plate forming. One inch, far too low.
I was involved in an auger flight tool design/fabrication years ago. They were formed from 1/2” and 3/4” AR plate. The helical flights were formed over a welded die with a tighter pitch to over-bend and allow spring back to nominal. The real design talent comes from the elliptical geometry needed. The geometry you send the plasma cutter will have an oval bore that is ultimately formed circular as the flight is pressed, to allow assembly on the drill pipe for welding.
I was involved in an auger flight tool design/fabrication years ago. They were formed from 1/2” and 3/4” AR plate. The helical flights were formed over a welded die with a tighter pitch to over-bend and allow spring back to nominal. The real design talent comes from the elliptical geometry needed. The geometry you send the plasma cutter will have an oval bore that is ultimately formed circular as the flight is pressed, to allow assembly on the drill pipe for welding.
GalvaoMachine
Plastic
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
what kind of tonnage will be required? i do not have the press yet , want to get everything figured out first
would you have any details on the dies you used?
would you have any details on the dies you used?
Start your tonnage search by looking up tonnage charts for 3/4 AR plate in a press brake. Then you will have to find or make a hydraulic press with enough stroke for each section. Mechanical presses won't work, as the tonnage is developed over a very short distance. You will need the tonnage full length.
john.k
Diamond
- Joined
- Dec 21, 2012
- Location
- Brisbane Qld Australia
Ive noticed shiploads of flights spiral formed from a continuous strip of steel..not just tiddly stuff either ,thick steel,big diameters .....possibly much heat involved .
I've seen some pretty big stuff and there was no external heat involved. Just cold rolling (thinning) the outside. There is some thickened edge flight now that is made from special profile bar that is thicker on what will be the outside edge. Flighting gauge is listed at thickness before forming, 3/8 may be 11 gauge at outside.
Lenham Machinery Limited - Home Page
Lenham flight forming machines was founded in 1970. Lenham's continuous helicoid flighting is used in combine harvesters, other agricultural machinery and industrial screw conveyers
lenham-uk.com
EmanuelGoldstein
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2018
I've seen several videos on wechat, both kinds. I don't think it's any big deal. If op wants to get into the biz, maybe look to where most of it is made : China.
I seem to recall from a tour I took of Thomas Conveyor in Fort Worth about 50 years ago that they formed the screw continuously using a clamp-and-pull system, not by pressing and welding individual flights. The clamps would grab flat plate and stretch it into a wedge with a twist and then move on an inch or so and do it again, forming the helix.
Maybe I dreamed it.
Rick “former drafter of belt conveyors and son of a materials handling engineer” Denney
Maybe I dreamed it.
Rick “former drafter of belt conveyors and son of a materials handling engineer” Denney
EmanuelGoldstein
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2018
Probably not. I was around when the US could do things, too.
But now is 2023.
Here's his competition
Who is the Top Screw Conveyor Manufacturer?
This is a loaded question because there is not one standout screw conveyor manufacturers, there are several major players, several who are really good in one area and lots of others just trying to make a living.
www.screwconveyorparts.com
btw
"Thomas Conveyor (Burleson, TX) – Thomas is a shell of what they used to be. Thomas has gone through several ownership changes in the last 20 years and is currently owned by Martin Conveyor. Thomas still has a well-known name and serves their shrinking customer base well for standard screw conveyor applications."
anyway, as of twenty years ago I am aware of a dirt-digging supplier giving up on the US and getting all his augurs from China. Prices were less than half. IMO, if OP gets into this field he better have some type of advantage. He's not going to have reputation or facilities or trained personnel as a selling point. If he plans to survive in a country where it costs $600,000 before you even stick a shovel in the ground to put up a building, then I would look at costs.
He ain't gonna be saving any money by asking established US conveyor companies to help him get started.
But that's just my opinion.
GalvaoMachine
Plastic
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
not trying to get into major manufacturing of flighting,we are a job shop and supply a local plant with majority of there screw conveyors which are replaced on a yearly basis due to wear and looking to increase profit by doing it in house
we currently order sectional flights from another shop who uses a home made die in a large hydraulic press to form there plasma cut blanks
upgrading our press would only be a benefit, not looking to spend huge money on specialty equipment for large production
we currently order sectional flights from another shop who uses a home made die in a large hydraulic press to form there plasma cut blanks
upgrading our press would only be a benefit, not looking to spend huge money on specialty equipment for large production
Last edited:
RC Mech
Stainless
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2014
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
We built the dies to a design from the lead maintenance engineer at the company. It was essentially several welded sectors, like a spiral staircase, of different heights along the helix. Ditto for the top section. The press was about 1000 tons. We were doing everything up to 6ft+ diameter flights though.
The real magic came with that geometry he had laid out for plasma cutting so it formed a circle for the drill pipe.
I had a company years ago ask me to build this machine. Called a "helical former" or some such. I was skeptical, still am. Guy was based in the UK and seems to have all videos that were published 7-8 years ago wiped from the internet. The machine shown in this video was the original design.
EmanuelGoldstein
Diamond
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2018
That makes a little more sense maybe but ...
1) how about check into the cost of a machine that makes the continuous flighting ? (Assuming we're talking the lighter-weight stuff). That'd actually be more efficient.
2) if the other guys have a "large hydraulic press" and have already developed the tools, why do you think it'll be cheaper if you do it ? It doesn't seem like using their same method but having to start from the beginning is likely to raise profits, at least not for some time
3) Why do they wear out so fast ? If there is some type of coating you can apply, then maybe that would raise your profits as well as give you something nearby competitors don't have, and bring in a different type of biz that could turn out to be a better deal ...
For wear resistance, the screw is usually fitted with a bolt-on liner, and those would be formed in individual flights (or half-flights), or perhaps cut from a continuous screw.
Rick “recalling that screw conveyors were a specialty corner of bulk materials handling” Denney
Rick “recalling that screw conveyors were a specialty corner of bulk materials handling” Denney
GalvaoMachine
Plastic
- Joined
- Dec 24, 2020
1/2 ar 400 mostly, i have never seen anything that heavy continuously rolled
exploring options , if i can utilize existing shop tools i had thought we would better our lead time and costs , also these are moving abrasive material for a plant that runs 24 hours, troughs have ar liners that are replaced usually 2 sets of liners to each screw , i am open to suggestions as they wear the entire the entire flight not just the edges, we hardface some of the screws we build
exploring options , if i can utilize existing shop tools i had thought we would better our lead time and costs , also these are moving abrasive material for a plant that runs 24 hours, troughs have ar liners that are replaced usually 2 sets of liners to each screw , i am open to suggestions as they wear the entire the entire flight not just the edges, we hardface some of the screws we build
IIRC the volumetric cement mixer truck people use bolt on hardened sections on the mixer auger.
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