To ensure a constant flow of air in industrial and residential premises, a duct system is installed. They are hermetic channels connected to a ventilation or climate system. Despite the apparent simplicity of the design, the equipment for the production of air ducts is a technological line with a high class of manufacturing accuracy.
Manufacturing technology
For the production of air ducts, galvanized iron sheets are most often used. The optimal thickness of the workpieces should be from 0.5 to 1 mm. If the material is used thicker, the installation labor will significantly increase. At smaller thicknesses, the mechanical strength of the structure will decrease.
Duct manufacturing technology is relatively simple. Prepared workpieces are cut to the desired size, and then they are bent into a certain shape. Most often these are square or rectangular pipes. To perform these operations, you will need to purchase the following equipment:
- Roll unwinding mechanism with steel sheet.
- The device for editing the dimensions of the workpiece to the desired deviation.
- Fabrication of stiffeners to increase duct durability.
- The guillotine, with which products are cut to the required length.
It is recommended to purchase automatic lines, as they will ensure the proper volume of production.
Metal unwinder
Almost every automatic line for the production of air ducts is equipped with a special device that performs the function of unwinding factory rolls of metal.
Outwardly, it looks like a large coil, on the shaft of which a structure with sheet material is installed. It is noteworthy that her work does not affect the diameter of the roll. When choosing, you should pay attention to the presence of movable clamps that guide the steel strip to the automatic processing line.
To ensure the continuity of production, it is recommended to choose models with two coils. As soon as the material in one of them is over, it will be possible to quickly connect the second. The supply of rolls should be carried out using special equipment - a stacker with a large capacity or a loader. At first, you can use the rental service, since one roll of material with a small volume of production can be enough for 5-7 work shifts.
Editing mechanism
Equipment for the production of air ducts should include the operation of editing the dimensions of the material. Since the final product must have strict overall dimensions, and discrepancies in sheet sizes can be up to 4-5 mm per 1 linear meter, technological trimming is necessary.
In practice, this process is carried out as follows: special shafts center the workpiece, and then using the cutting equipment, the edge of the sheet is removed. When analyzing equipment, the error coefficient of this operation should be taken into account. For square ducts, the diagonal deviation should not exceed 0.8 mm.
Next, the workpiece is poisoned at the stage of formation of reinforcing structural elements on its surface.
Application of stiffeners
Since the thickness of the starting material is relatively small, it is necessary to make stiffeners on the surface of the structure. In ducts with a large cross-section, this is a prerequisite.
Therefore, another dimension that characterizes machines for the production of air ducts is the dimensions of the stiffeners. The latter are made using double-sided shafts, which under pressure act on a certain part of the workpiece. To ensure proper rigidity, it is enough to adjust the machine to a roll depth parameter of 3 mm and a deformation width of 5 mm. Their manufacture is mandatory and does not depend on the dimensions of the future duct.
Then the workpiece passes the stage of forming the final form. Using bending elements, the sheet is given the final shape. To join the edges of the structure, the castle method is used. After the bending elements are fixed, they are rolled.
Guillotine
The final stage of manufacturing is trimming the product to the desired size. All equipment for the production of air ducts is equipped with special industrial knives - guillotines.
In order to ensure that the dimensions of the structure do not change during this operation, the cutting takes place in several stages. First, the duct is laid on one side on a flat surface, and the knife cuts it to the required dimensions. The design rotates and the operation repeats. All this happens automatically, which ensures compliance with the dimensions of the product.
When calculating the volume of production, one should focus on the average line productivity. At the moment, it is about 10 m / min, or up to 1000 m³ per 8-hour shift.
