A slitter folder is a machine that has 2 functions; it can slit a material, or it can bend (fold) a material, all to your specifications. They are typically used to create and bend thin metal flashing, but can handle metals of varying thickness.
Some slitter folders are wholly manual, where you need to set the angles and dimensions yourself, and others are computerised where you can input what you need. Most come with foot pedals for added safety.
The size of the sheet metal and how fast it can bend it is entirely dependant on the specific machine. And with so many manufacturers of slitter folders out there, including Machine Makers, Jorns, Biegemaster and RAS, there's sure to be a make and model that suits your slitting and folding needs. Some of these machines are built for a specific purpose, such as roofing and architectural profiles, so it pays to do your research for what is required for your project.
To slice off a piece of material with a computerised slitter folder, you feed the material into the machine, tell it how wide you want the cut to be, hit start and the machine will clamp the metal, ready to do its thing. The backgauge will push the metal out to the required width, then the roller cutters will roll the metal between two cutters, effectively slitting the piece of metal off the large piece. Most of these actions will require the push of a foot pedal before it will begin.
When you need to bend the material, you load up the machine, input the angles you require, and the slitter folder will push the metal out (as before), however instead of cutting it, a folding beam underneath will rise to the exact angle, forcing the material to bend into shape.
The main advantage of a slitter folder is its ability to tackle any bending angle, without tarnishing the metal's surface. These machines are also able to bend metal to give the appearance of a curve, which means cylindrical shapes are achievable without the need for special tools.
The other big advantage of this machine is its ability to complete 2 different functions, where other machines can only cut or bend material, the slitter folder can do both.
