By Halcyon Machinery · Updated
Before you accept a roll forming line, put the steel specification, material certificate, coil identity and measured trial parts in one record. The certificate tells you about the steel delivery; the trial tells you about the machine. Match the trial coil to the grades, thicknesses and coatings in your quotation, then measure finished parts against your approved drawing.
Which document answers which question
| Question | Evidence to request | Who should provide it |
|---|---|---|
| What steel was used? | Material specification, delivery identification and the agreed inspection document linked to the trial coil. | Your steel supplier |
| What material range is offered? | A written scope identifying grades, thicknesses, coatings and relevant drawings. | The machine supplier |
| What parts passed the trial? | Identified samples, individual measurements and agreed acceptance criteria. | The trial record, checked against your drawing |
A maximum thickness printed in a brochure is only a claim until it appears in the written scope, so ask for that scope. The part checks depend on the line: for a purlin machine, identify the approved section and hole datums; for a roof sheet line, identify the rib, cover width and lap drawing.
Reading an EN 10204 type 3.1 document
The official SSAB Toolox guarantees guide describes type 3.1 as a material delivery conformity statement with relevant test results, validated by an authorised manufacturer representative independent of production. For its metal-coated advanced high-strength steels, SSAB's product information names the mother coil as the testing unit and supplies EN 10204 documentation where agreed in the order.
Correspondence may call the same paper a mill test certificate, material certificate or inspection certificate. Look past the label and ask your steel supplier for three things: the document type, the referenced material standard and the delivery it covers.
Tracing the certificate to the strip in the machine
Record the coil or strip identification before the trial and compare it with the delivery paperwork. Heat, coil and batch numbers can identify different levels of production, so give each its own field and ask the material supplier to explain any mismatch between tag and certificate. If the mother coil was slit, request a record linking the trial strip to the original coil; a photo of the tag helps, a photo of the running machine does not.
| Field per sample | What to write down |
|---|---|
| Profile drawing | Revision used for the trial |
| Strip width | Width of the strip fed into the line |
| Thickness | Nominal value, permitted limits and measured result kept separate; whether it means steel base or coated material; measurement method |
| Coating | Coating specification from the document, not from the look of the painted surface |
| Material identifier | Heat, coil or batch number and the certificate reference |
| Trial date | Date the sample was formed |
ASTM, EN and units in US, UK and Australian quotes
Keep the grade and standard exactly as your material supplier specifies them. Do not swap an ASTM designation for an EN one because both are galvanised steel; any substitution needs a written assessment against the machine configuration and finished product. Where the quotation uses inches and your drawing uses millimetres, record both values with units and agree which governs. A gauge label alone is insufficient: state the thickness definition and limits.
When the demonstration coil differs from your order
Ask our factory team to list the differences in grade, condition, thickness, coating and material identity before you treat the trial as acceptance evidence. Similar colour and nominal thickness do not mean similar forming behaviour. In the record, split items into accepted, demonstrated only and still open; a run on a different grade leaves an open item against the ordered grade until the agreed verification is done.
Six steps from drawing to accepted scope
- Send the profile drawing, steel grade, thickness range, coating, punching layout and required output.
- Agree the trial material, document references, sample plan and measurable acceptance criteria.
- Record the coil identity and any mother-coil-to-slit-strip link before feeding material.
- Link each sample to the material and line configuration, noting any coil substitution.
- Record individual finished-part measurements and differences from the agreed requirements.
- List accepted scope, open items, responsible parties and conditions for any repeat trial.
Download the blank material and trial traceability record and fill in one row per sample.
Questions buyers ask
Does a steel certificate prove a roll forming machine can process that grade?
No. It covers the material delivery. Compatibility with the line and tooling belongs in the supplier's written scope and the agreed trial.
Does one accepted coil prove every future coil will produce acceptable parts?
Not automatically. Acceptance covers the agreed specification, configuration and criteria. Assess any material change before carrying earlier conclusions forward.
Do you need to publish a customer's certificate?
No. Keep order documents in the purchase file and agree in advance what may be shared.
Sources and next steps
The linked SSAB documents describe SSAB's own products and inspection arrangements; this workflow is Halcyon editorial guidance, not an inspection standard or engineering approval.
Start with the roll forming equipment selection guide, then compare purlin equipment or roof sheet equipment against your drawing. Use the profile sample inspection guide for the finished-part checks.
Send your drawing and material specification
Halcyon Machinery supplies factory-direct from our Xiamen production base. Send your requirements and we will propose a configuration and list the documents and trial evidence to check before purchase.