ringformer

A ringformer is a machine or tool designed to form material into a circular ring geometry. In industrial metalworking, the term most often refers to ring-rolling equipment, including ring-rolling mills. In ring rolling, a preform such as a solid disk, a hollow tube, or a pre-formed blank is shaped between rotating rolls and, if needed, a mandrel or backup tooling to produce a ring with a defined inside and outside diameter and a controlled cross-section. The process can produce large-diameter, high-strength rings for industries such as aerospace, automotive, piping, and mechanical assemblies. Ring-rolling machines may operate hot or cold, depending on material properties and desired outcomes, and can incorporate multiple rolls, mandrels, and dies to achieve precise geometry and tolerances.

There are also smaller, manual or semi-automatic ringformers used in jewelry making and craftwork. These devices include ring mandrels, rolling mills, and supporting tooling that allow stock such as wire or sheet metal to be formed into closed rings, sized, and finished through bending, annealing, and soldering as needed. Jewelry ringformers emphasize accuracy of inner diameter, thickness, and surface finish, often with attention to concentricity and symmetry.

Materials commonly processed include steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and other alloys. Key considerations across ringforming include control of wall thickness, dimensional tolerances, material work hardening, and the need for finishing steps to achieve the desired mechanical properties and surface quality.

See also: ring rolling, swaging, mandrel, rolling mill, metallurgy.