Roll Formed Tube Meets Strict Regulations

These operator compartment structures (usually configured as cabs or frames) are intended to protect equipment operators and motorists from injuries caused by vehicle overturns or rollovers. Commonly fitted onto heavy equipment such as tractors, earthmoving machinery, 4x4s, pickup trucks and UTVs used in construction, agriculture and mining, ROPS are defined by various regulatory agencies, including the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

The regulations include both a strength requirement as well as an energy absorption requirement of the structure. For example, some dump trucks add a protrusion to their boxes that cover the operator’s compartment for ROPS purposes. Configurations such as this were developed out of necessity so employees travelling around or within mine sites were provided with extra protection in the event of a fleet vehicle roll over.

The second protective structure is the falling object protective structure (FOPS) that provides overhead protection against falling material. The terms “ROPS” and “FOPS” are often used interchangeably (sometimes inaccurately) with “cabs”, “canopies”, “roll bars”, “protective structures” and other such descriptive names.

In the U.S., ROPS designs have to be certified by a professional engineer who will normally require a destructive test. The structure will be tested at a reduced temperature (where the metal is more brittle), or fabricated from materials that have satisfactory low temperature performance.

Roll Forming Corporation (Shelbyville, KY) is the largest custom tube manufacturer for rollover protective structures (ROPS) and falling object protective structures (FOPS) used in construction, agricultural, and material handling equipment in North America. Even makers of recreational all-terrain vehicles partner with this company for their ROPS and FOPS needs.

To satisfy ROPS and FOPS regulatory needs, Roll Forming offers a variety of standard and customized tubes with material thicknesses ranging from 2 mm to 4 mm. Its Indiana facility manufactures four different section types on a state-of-the-art production line featuring 1,200 to 2,000 individual pieces of tooling that change depending on the model being produced. The four sections are “A” posts, “C” posts, door sections, and window sections.

All components can be modified to client specifications with secondary tooling and processing operations like bending, sawing, laser cutting and hole-punching. These sorts of capabilities enable vehicle and equipment manufacturers to provide quality, high-performance ROPS and FOPS to their customers while saving time and money by eliminating the need for additional in-house resources.

Roll Forming Corporation, 1070 Brooks Industrial Road, Shelbyville, Kentucky 40065, 502-633-4435, info@rollform.com. www.rfcorp.com