Rotary Punching Revisited

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New ways to increase production, reduce labor costs, and maximize floor space may be found by revisiting a 50-year-old technology - rotary punching.

Many part features and patterns can be punched and formed using pull-through rotary units at up to 300 feet per minute (FPM) in materials as thick as 1/16 inch. In addition, cam technology enables rotary punching and forming of material thicknesses up to 0.105 in. (12 gauge). Servo drives empower line speeds as fast as 650 FPM.

What It Can Do

Examples of rotary-punched or formed features and components are:

• Holes, oblongs, squares and rectangles which are made using a simple rotary punch. Corner bead for drywall and angles can be punched on a rotary punch, as well as dense patterns, RC channels, starter strips, nail holes for siding, and filters.
• Precut lines, which are sheared using rotary shear rolls.
• Soffits and building panels, which are punched using a rotary lance or open-slot-style unit.
• Barbed tape, which can be formed using a rotary form roll.

Multiple factors need to be addressed when deciding if rotary technology is right for the application.

The first is to determine which features, if any, can be made in the rotary unit by consulting the manufacturer and running tests.

Then determine whether the unit can be used in a roll forming line or as a stand-alone unit. If the profile requires only forming and no punched holes, or if the part cannot be roll-formed, such as an aluminum extrusion, it may be able to be processed in a stand-alone unit.

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