The digital heart of Samesor’s roll forming excellence

In the world of sheet metal production, many see a roll forming line as just a machine: a powerful assembly of steel, hydraulics, motors and automation. At Samesor, we see it differently. For us, the machine is the body, but the software and the engineering expertise behind it are the brain and soul.

When our customers visit our facility in Kuopio, Finland, we often point to our design department and say: “This is where the magic happens”. The magic is built on decades of collaboration, world-class digital tools and software, and a level of Finnish expertise that is rare even on a global scale. Let’s look under the hood of roll forming design!

Samesor has been collaborating with the German roll forming software pioneer data M for over 20 years now. This strategic partnership is vital to ensuring the precision and quality Samesor machines are known for worldwide.

data M Sheet Metal Solutions is a leading specialist, providing innovative COPRA RF and COPRA FEA RF software and services for the sheet metal industry. The company focuses on the software solutions for digital design, simulation, and optical quality control of roll forming processes. data M is a family-owned company with second generation leadership, and we had the chance to sit down with Maximilian Sedlmaier, the director and exchange a few words about the COPRA tools with him.

“Our main business is roll forming and software development, but also services, training, troubleshooting play an important role in the range of solutions we offer. Samesor is using both of our tools and other services, so we are collaborating with the whole spectrum”, describes Max Sedlmaier.

To stay ahead of the competition, Samesor has invested in technology that really brings the roll forming design process to the next level. At the core of design process are two distinct but deeply linked tools:

• COPRA RF (Roll design): This is where the process begins. COPRA RF creates all manufacturing related data and drawings for roll production and machine setup. Design specialists use this tool to design the “flowers”, which are blueprints for producing different roll sets needed to create specific profiles. It’s a precise sequence of bends that transform a flat sheet into a complex profile.
• COPRA FEA RF (Simulation): While others test their designs by trial and error on the factory floor, Samesor does it in a virtual environment. COPRA FEA RF is a heavy-duty simulation tool that predicts the outcome of the profiles and how the material will behave.

“We were data M’s first COPRA FEA RF customer in Finland, and we currently operate what is believed to be the only dedicated roll forming simulator in the country. For the customer, this means predictability. We simulate and identify potential issues in the digital world and encounter them remarkably less in the production floor”, says Pasi Ikonen, Sales Operations Manager of Samesor. 

Want to learn more about the COPRA tools? Samesor’s design specialists recommend checking out the data M Youtube-channel. 

While COPRA software is engineered for a seamless user experience, the roll forming design and simulation process remains a high-level area of expertise that cannot be outsourced to a machine alone. The software is removing barriers between design and data, allowing Samesor’s experts to focus on a deep understanding of how raw materials react when processed and leading the complex processes.

“A typical challenge in the industry is that you have designers who know roll forming but aren’t simulation experts, or simulation departments that don’t understand the physical roll forming process. We have solved the challenge by linking the RF and FEA tools. The software automatically creates the FEA project based on the tool design. This allows the designer to seamlessly operate the simulation and analyze results without getting bogged down in the technical complexities of the simulation setup. The software also enables quick feedback loops for fast, iterative development”, Max explains.

In Finland, the number of experts who deeply understand roll forming design can be counted on two hands and it’s safe to say that the best of them are working at Samesor’s design department. Samesor’s design team leader, Pasi Lyytinen, and design specialist Mika Hätinen agree that the COPRA software is a powerful tool in the hands of a specialist.

“The COPRA tools require training and problem-solving skills, because there are no ready-made answers when you are designing something new tailored for a specific client need. Both RF and FEA require a specialist skillset, which you develop with a lot of practice and over time. CAD software skills are also in everyday use”, tells Pasi Lyytinen.

To ensure the full potential of the software is utilized, data M also provides support, training and “holding hands” for the companies using the tools.

“It means that we are not only teaching how to use the software but also how to read and interpret the results and fix issues for a better design that works in real life. That is a big part of mastering COPRA”, comments Max Sedlmaier.

From Samesor’s point of view the CORPA FEA RF tool has changed the game a lot. It has made it possible to produce roll forming lines faster and with fewer manual steps. However, each roll is always tested one last time on the factory floor to ensure that it actually works the way it’s designed before it is delivered to the customer.

“A good example of a successful use of the FEA tool is when after producing the rolls, the customer puts them on the machine and the design is working perfectly without a lot of additional reworking and optimizing”, says Max Sedlmaier.

“Samesor has a team of three roll forming tool design specialists, so it’s been a big investment from their side in our tools”, Max adds.

Both Pasis from Samesor are agreeing. The COPRA tools are an important part of everyday roll forming operations and seen as an advantage to the production and serving customers even better.

Have a complex profile in mind? Great, we’ll be happy to help. Whether you are in the construction industry or a specialized workshop, we provide the results that keep you competitive. As Samesor’s customer you’ll be guaranteed to enjoy a top notch design-expertise combined with the most powerful tools in the market.

Are you ready to see what our simulators and specialists can do for your business? Let’s talk.

Discover how Samesor can future-proof your production here.