There are many manufacturers of portable rollforming equipment and all have very similar maintenance requirements, whether it’s for a gutter machine or a roofing machine. Follow these basic requirements and you’ll have a machine that will serve you well for many years to come.
Roller Maintenance
Most modern machines feature a polyurethane drive roller system with chromed free-floating forming rollers that have to be routinely cleaned. Turn on your machine and spray the polyurethane rollers with a product like Formula 409, a household cleaner whose original application was as a commercial solvent and degreaser for industries that struggled with particularly difficult cleaning problems. You do not want to use anything too aggressive. Let your machine run for a few minutes, then turn it off and wipe down the rollers with a clean cloth. Remove as much dirt and grime as you can. Then turn the machine on and jog it forward-keeping your hands away from any moving parts. Turn the machine off again and wipe off the other sides of the rollers and the bottom roll. Wipe away any excess dirt or liquid. Repeat if necessary.
Use a clean cloth to wipe down the metal forming rollers with Formula 409. Cleaning these rollers may require more effort and elbow grease than the neoprene rollers. Repeat these steps once a month and remember to make sure the polyurethane rollers are completely dry before running material through the machine. Rollers that are not dry will slip and make a mark on the bottom of the material.
Blade Maintenance
It is necessary for any rollforming machine to keep the cutting blade well-oiled to ensure a clean cut of the roofing or gutter material. The guillotine blade should be oiled every day with 3-in-1 oil or 10-weight motor oil. Do NOT use WD-40. It is not a lubricant. The WD stands for water displacement and the product is made with a cleaning and degreasing solvent known as Stoddard Solvent that can ultimately get sticky and gummy-not lubricating. It will create wear on the blade and not give you a good clean cut on the material.
Overall Cleaning Wiping down the entire machine also gives you the opportunity to closely inspect the machine. As with any mechanized piece of equipment, keeping the machine clean at all times will increase its life and make maintenance easier. If this is done on a regular basis, the process will only take a few minutes and will save you a lot of time in the long run, eliminating the need to clean hundreds of feet of product later. Remove other debris by vacuuming out the machine after cleaning the rollers. Blowing out the machine with compressed air is not a good idea because you can blow debris onto the chains and bearings. Never leave material in any machine with polyurethane rollers. When you are done using the machine for the day, calculate the length of the machine into the last piece needed and then empty the machine. Material left in the machine acts like a trough, catching dirt and debris. Consequently, when the machine is turned on, the roller runs through the residual dirt and will soil the product and the rollers. At least once a year, oil all the chains in your rollformer using motorcycle chain oil. Keep the chain drives-top and bottom-tight. Each station is adjustable. Otherwise, if the chain has too much slack, the chain can jump on the teeth of the sprockets, and cause the sprocket to wear and eventually will need to be replaced.
Roofing Rollformers
The following two tips are for roofing rollformers exclusively. First, as you would a car or any gas engine-operated machinery, you have to change the oil, spark plugs, oil and fuel filters, and the dual-air filter in your roofing rollformer. Most engines have an hour meter on them so you know when to change the oil. If your engine doesn’t have an hour meter, you can purchase one at any small engine repair shop or auto parts store. They are easy to install. The oil should be changed every 20 to 25 hours of running time. Spark plugs, fuel and air filters should be changed yearly. But, if you’re serious about getting the best mileage out of your machine, follow these suggestions for every month your machine is in service. Second, change the filter on the roofing rollformer’s hydraulic system. Change the filter for the first time after 50 hours of run time, then every 250 hours of run time after that. Contact the manufacturer or a service center to filter out water, dirt and particles from the 20-gallon hydraulic tank and to top it off. One of the biggest oversights that contractors make in the field is not having a roofing or gutter machine ready for service because it is needed that instant. Either the machine has been sitting in the shop since the last job and no one has looked at it, or the contractor pulls it out to the job to find out that something is broken or out of adjustment. Suddenly, it’s an emergency to get a technician to come out as quickly as possible and take care of the problem. Time is money, and good planning can save both. Every machine should be inspected carefully before leaving the shop. Give the equipment a good wipe down and run test pieces through it before it leaves for a job. Doing this allows the operator to correct any problems before the rollformer gets to the job site. If you have a big job coming up and you haven’t had the machine looked at by a manufacturer’s technician in a while, the best thing to do is give the supplier a call and schedule a technician to go over the machine and check it out for you. These are the most common areas the owner can address to keep a rollforming machine running smoothly. There are other areas of maintenance that should be done through regular yearly maintenance by a manufacturer’s certified technician.
