repairing perf panels ?

[Anole]

I'll pose this as a question, because I don't know the outcome.

When I was a kid in Jr. High School, I had Metal Shop in 7th or 8th grade.
They had a big metal brake, and some rollers, both of which were at least three feet wide.
Do you think perforated panels off a BUD could be restored by running them through the rollers, gently?

On the other hand, I'm thinking mesh would be destroyed by this procedure (?)

 

[Cadsulfide]

You can get any curve you want with artful use of a set of rollers

 

[PANHANDLER]

You can get any curve you want with artful use of a set of rollers

This is true , you can shape metal to most any state you desire depending on grain and flexabilty. I work in a machine shop and i can purchase expandable sheets in steel,,, stainless ,,and aluminum . There are two types to purchase rolled or non rolled ( rolled being flat ). I have noticed some manufacurers of dishes use both types . To answer your question Anole yes they can be restored to a certain extent .( holes and tears would be a prob )

 

[Auric]

I think you could restore perforated to a point. Expanded metal no, I wouldn't recommend that.

If you have a bend in the metal & you run it though the rollers without some type of heat, it will retain the memory of the bend. Perforated metal is really not that expensive, & I would think in So Cal you could readily pick some up & have it cut to size fairly inexpensive.

 

[caddata]

......You can get any curve you want with artful use of a set of rollers......

Not compound curves. A parabolic dish is compound by nature in that it curves in two directions---"bowl shaped" in one direction and parabolic in the other. An "English Wheel" is the metalworking tool used for compound curves. It takes years of practice and lots of wasted sheetmetal to become proficient. If you remember Carroll Shelby's original Cobra's back in the sixties, they had handcrafted aluminum bodies formed on "English Wheels" by real English craftsmen in England.

If the expanded metal is "flattened", then a metal roll could be used to re-flatten it, and it would return to it's parabolic shape when reinstalled in the dish framework.

 

[Anole]

simplify:

No, no, no....

I had something specific in mind when I posted, and realize now I should have been more clear.
All I'm asking is if a bent, crumpled, or hail-dinged sheet of perf can be restored to FLAT ?

I've never worked with a BUD with segments of perf, but I'm assuming they are delivered FLAT, and merely follow the rib-shape when installed.
To say it another way, they are curved in one dimension, not two.
(the dish is not a true parabola [certainly not at Ku], but a good enough approximation for C-band)

I'd never suggest trying to get any curve or shape with the rollers beyond just restoring it to it's original FLAT state!.

And yes, I'm sure that here near the port of Los Angeles, any sort of industrial material would be available.
Haven't really shopped for it.

My interest in restoring dinged panels was not for me.
It's an idea someone away from industrial centers might want to try.
Just find a high school. -

This whole idea of "pounding it out" is not for the uninitiated - metal working requires skills.
I sure don't have them.
However, feeding a wedge through some rollers is within my life experience.

 

[turbosat]

And I was going to offer you some of my extra pieces, lol. I've been using some of them to shield my squash plants from the scorching sun. Not working out very well for that purpose either.

 

[caddata]

......feeding a wedge through some rollers......

No reason you can't give your dinged, battered, and abused panels a "new lease on life" by rolling them flat.

I did a patent drawing a long time ago for a machine that made expanded metal. It pierced, stretched, and the last operation was to flatten and straighten with several pairs of rollers.

Harold