How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
(OP)
Hello - I am stumped on how they make the sheet metal spiral for something like this (see image below). I can see how they would make a sheet metal helix without the room for a rod through the center - but can not wrap my head around the manufacturing process for a sheet metal helix with room down it's center to be welded on a rod. The process in the linked video is what could be used to make a helix of sheet metal - how would the flat piece of sheet metal be altered to have room for rod down it's center?
Link
Link





RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
I believe something like you show can be made by taking a long sheet metal strip and put it in a long set of rollers at a skew angle. Then, you may roll it several times, tighten the rollers, and/or changing the skew angle. If you wanted to roll a short circular band (a short piece of duct/pipe) you would put the sht. metal strip in the rolls, exactly perpendicular to the axis of the rolls, and by tightening the rolls you would roll a smaller dia. circular band. In both cases the resulting piece ends up rolled about the long axis of the rolls. Also, look up the layout of a spiral chute in a sheet metal or light steel layout and detailing textbook.
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
We used to save them and hang them on our Christmas because they looked sort of like shiny 'icicles'. The results would look something like this:
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vsuUYr6EHo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2beBQns4FUw
Though it's not as common as the welded method Greg describes.
The strip in the o.p.'s post appears to be brazed or soldered to the center shaft, not welded, but it's tough to tell from the photo.
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
Unfortunately, I don't think that will result in the shape you think it will. I suggest you try that with paper and see what you end up with.
Note that the outside of the spiral has a -much- longer circumferential length than the inside... you don't get that by rolling up parallel-edge strips.
What GregLocock posted is the only practical solution.
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
But with a bigger crank handle.
Maybe start with trapezoidal wire, wind into a spiral of mean radius, and then run between flattening rollers to finished thickness. The trapezoid preform provides the material to retain the spiral.
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
John, your "Jeweled Icicle" shape can be formed by putting the piece in a lathe while one end is held stationary.
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
https://books.google.com/books?id=GMMcAQAAMAAJ&...
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1egmm_4Y3Rk
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAD0hu-pwSA
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
Definitely a skilled craftsman. Where can I get some of those OSHA safety shoes? I burned mine up welding at home?
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
In my many visits to India I've personally witnessed several situations where the use of 'hand labor' was done where we in the West we would have used machinery. The classic example was when I visited a client of ours and I noted upon entering the facility that about a dozen men or so were digging, with picks and shovels, what I assumed was some sort of trench between two buildings for either water/sewage or some other kind of service lines. Across the street, inside the fence of another company, there was another trench being dug but this time using a conventional back-hoe and only a couple of laborers helping. When I asked our host about this and mentioned what I saw across the street, he said that yes, he could have hired someone with a back-hoe but he decided to go the route that he did because tonight there would be 12 families with food on the table instead of only three.
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
RE: How it's Made? Sheet Metal Helix
John R. Baker, P.E. (ret)
EX-Product 'Evangelist'
Irvine, CA
Siemens PLM:
UG/NX Museum:
The secret of life is not finding someone to live with
It's finding someone you can't live without