Floor Deck Roll Forming Machine Manufacturers
Composite, deep-rib and re-entrant profiled steel decking in 0.8 – 1.5 mm sheet — 600 / 750 / 900 mm cover width, 22 – 26 stations, inline embossing for the composite bond.
A floor deck roll forming machine makes the profiled steel sheet that becomes the floor of a multi-storey building — permanent formwork while the slab is poured, and tensile reinforcement afterwards. It is a line where the specification carries a structural assumption: the embossed pattern in the ribs is what lets the steel and the concrete act together, so the machinery that puts it there is not decoration.
ZTRFM builds the line around 0.8 – 1.5 mm sheet at 22 – 26 forming stations, covering composite deck at around 50 mm rib and deep-rib deck at 60 – 75 mm, with the embossing unit and the shear stud punch on the line. Everything below is the specification we quote from.
What a floor deck roll forming line produces
The variant is decided by the span your structural engineer designed to, not by preference — which is why it is the first question a serious supplier asks.
| Variant | Rib height | Typical span | How it works and when to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Composite deck | 50 mm | 2.5 – 3.6 m | The embossment in the ribs gives the concrete something to grip, and shear studs tie the slab to the beam, so steel and concrete share the work. That is what lets a normal multi-storey slab be poured without a mesh layer in it. |
| Deep-rib deck | 60 – 75 mm | 3.6 – 6.0 m | Here the profile does the carrying on its own, and composite action is often left out of the design altogether. It is the variant that reaches longer spans, keeps storey heights down, and avoids propping the deck during the pour. |
| Re-entrant deck | 50 – 60 mm | 3.0 – 4.5 m | The rib is closed off at the top by a narrow flange, which buys fire performance from the profile itself. Chosen on projects where the deck — not just the finished floor — has a fire rating to meet. |
Machine specifications
| Material | GI, galvanised, aluminium, pre-painted steel |
|---|---|
| Thickness | 0.8 – 1.5 mm |
| Effective cover width | 600 / 750 / 900 mm |
| Rib height | 50 – 80 mm (variant dependent) |
| Forming speed | 10 – 20 m/min |
| Forming stations | 22 – 26 |
| Drive | Gearbox chain drive, 11 – 18.5 kW |
| Embossing | Inline embossing unit for composite bond |
| Punching | Shear stud access holes, optional inline |
| Cutting | Hydraulic flying cut |
| Control | PLC + HMI, auto length + batch |
| Certification | CE Declaration of Conformity |
| Lead time | 45 – 60 days |
| Profile tolerance | ±0.5 mm on rib height · ±1 mm on cover width |
Cover width and rib height are given as the sizes the line is set up for rather than a continuous range, because the rolls are made to your profile geometry. The required strip width is calculated from your profile drawing, and the line is quoted against one of these configurations — there is no single list price.
How to choose a floor deck machine manufacturer
Does the quote include the embossing unit?
On a composite deck line this is the omission that costs the most, because the pattern rolled into the ribs is the grip the concrete uses. Take it away and the sheet reverts to being a mould for the pour, and the calculation your engineer worked from no longer describes the floor you are building. A tempting figure for "the deck machine" can turn out to be a price for a plain roll former — and the embossing rolls are not something you add on afterwards.
Which deck variant is actually being specified?
Composite at 50 mm rib, deep-rib at 60 – 75 mm and re-entrant at 50 – 60 mm are different sections with different jobs, and the span your structural engineer designed is what decides between them. A supplier who quotes "a floor deck machine" without asking which one has not engaged with the line you are actually buying.
Will the station count hold the rib to tolerance?
The frame carries 22 – 26 stations, which sounds like a lot until you consider what the profile asks for. Rib depth in 0.8 – 1.5 mm sheet cannot be reached in a couple of passes without stretching the metal thinner at every bend. Building it up across many stations is what keeps the finished section inside ±0.5 mm on rib height — so when two proposals for one deck come back with station counts far apart, that difference is the question to ask about.
Is straightening being treated as part of the section accuracy?
Because decking is broad and flat, any coil set the strip arrived with spreads itself across the whole cover width and stays visible in the finished panel. There is no stage after the section closes where it can be pulled out. That leaves the straightener just ahead of the first station as the single opportunity to deal with it, which is why the decoiler and straightener sit on the accuracy side of the specification.
Are the shear stud holes punched while the strip is flat?
Access holes are typically 13 mm, 16 mm and 19 mm at your pitch, and on the line they are punched while the strip is still flat — which is the only point at which hole position is reliably registered to the finished rib. If a proposal has those holes coming from a separate press after cutting, that is a different production flow and a different labour cost.
Does the line cut while it is moving, and is the runout long enough?
Deck panels are long, and stopping the line for every cut is what would make a deck line uneconomic, so the cut is a hydraulic flying cut. The panels are also wide and awkward to handle: a long runout table keeps them flat instead of kinked, which is a small detail that tells you whether the supplier has shipped a deck line before.
What has to be settled before the rolls are cut
- Which variant the design calls for
- Composite at 50 mm rib, deep-rib at 60 – 75 mm, or re-entrant at 50 – 60 mm — the engineer's span calculation picks it, and it cannot be swapped later because each one is a different roll set.
- Cover width
- 600 / 750 / 900 mm are the standard widths. Note that the coil width is worked back from your section drawing, not chosen from a list.
- Bolt hole pattern
- Holes are usually 13 mm, 16 mm or 19 mm at a pitch you set, and punching them on the line is an option rather than a given.
- Sheet specification
- Galvanised and pre-painted as standard; aluminium in the 1.0 – 1.5 mm band where it is specified, which means altered roll pressure.
- Accepted deviation
- ±0.5 mm on rib height and ±1 mm on cover width is the normal working tolerance, and it is verified on the floor against a profile gauge rather than argued about on delivery.
- Electrical supply
- 380 V / 50 Hz / 3-phase as standard, adapted to your site otherwise.
These are the points buyers most often change, and every one of them is settled before the rolls are cut rather than adjusted afterwards. The variant and the stud hole pattern in particular cannot be added cheaply later, because both change the roll design.
Line configuration and options
| Hydraulic decoiler and straightener | At the head of the line, and the last chance to take coil set out of a section this wide and this shallow. |
|---|---|
| Inline embossing unit | On a composite deck line this is load-bearing equipment, not trim — the embossment is the mechanical bond the slab design assumes. |
| Forming frame | A 22–26 station frame on a gearbox chain drive of 11–18.5 kW, taking the strip through at 10–20 m/min. |
| Shear stud punch (optional) | Forms the access holes for the studs while the strip is still flat, to whatever diameter and pitch you use. |
| Hydraulic flying cut | Deck sheets come out long, so a cut that lets the line keep moving is what makes the throughput figure real. |
| PLC with auto length and batch | The sheet lengths come from the slab layout drawing instead of being measured as the line runs. |
| Runout table and stacking | Wide panels are awkward to handle while they are still moving; a long table lets them settle flat rather than kink. |
A deck line is quoted as one package covering everything above. This is the list to check line by line when you compare proposals, because on this machine a low number most often means the embossing unit or the straightener is missing rather than priced better.
Floor deck machine price — what drives it
- Which deck variant the line has to make
- Composite, deep-rib and re-entrant deck are different rib heights and different roll sets, so the variant mix is the first thing that moves the price. A line covering one variant is not built like a line covering all three.
- Whether embossing is on the line
- The inline embossing unit carries the composite design assumption, so it is a structural requirement rather than a cosmetic one — and it is the item most often missing from a cheap proposal.
- Stations and drive power
- 22–26 stations on an 11–18.5 kW gearbox chain drive. The high station count is what forms a deep rib gradually without thinning the material at the bend radii, so it is the part of the price that buys tolerance.
- Shear stud punching, inline or not
- Inline punching at your diameter and pitch removes a second press operation, and it is what keeps hole position registered to the finished rib.
- Cover width and strip width
- Cover width of 600 / 750 / 900 mm, with the required strip width calculated from your profile drawing — so the coil width, and therefore the decoiler, follow from the profile rather than from a standard size.
- Material range and tolerance
- Galvanised and pre-painted steel as standard, or aluminium 1.0 – 1.5 mm with adjusted roll pressure and hardened tooling. Holding ±0.5 mm on rib height is a build decision, not an inspection promise.
We quote the configuration rather than publish a number, because a line built for one composite deck section and a line carrying three variants with inline embossing and punching are not the same machine.
Factory, certification and lead time
ZTRFM builds cold roll forming lines for the floor deck, roofing, cladding, framing, cable containment and highway barrier markets, and every line is assembled, wired and run on our own shop floor before it is packed. The floor deck line carries a CE Declaration of Conformity, runs on 380 V / 50 Hz / 3-phase as standard with other voltages built to your site, and lead time is 45 – 60 days. Machines ship FOB Tianjin and enquiries are answered within 24 hours.