Your roll former isn't the problem. Its controller is.
We retrofit FRAMECAD, Pinnacle and Howick LGS lines with MachineOS, the controller we engineered in-house. It reads the .csv straight out of VertexBD or any LGS design package and forms to ±0.1 mm at full line speed.
A locked controller turns a capable machine into a rental. Zavod strips out the OEM control stack, and the dongle that comes with it, and replaces it with our own open controller. Your rollers, drives and frame stay. The software that held them hostage goes.
One iPad. Any LGS software. Nothing to license.
The Zavod control unit on the machine runs MachineOS, the control layer we build and maintain in-house. It drives the servos, reads plain .csv frame renders, and serves its operator console straight to an iPad — in English or Arabic, with no proprietary panel and no OEM licence anywhere in the stack.
MachineOS · halo console · runs on iPad
Four screens of the MachineOS console as it runs on an iPad: program selection with a 2D frame render and coil nest, the live run screen, the MDX61B drive page, and the same run screen in Arabic with right-to-left layout.
Built into every roll forming project.
Controller & HMI replacement
The OEM control cabinet electronics and operator panel come out. A Zavod control unit running MachineOS and an iPad go in, wired to your existing servos, encoders, punches and shear.
DRM & licence removal
No dongle, no annual key, no remote kill-switch. The machine runs whether or not the original manufacturer still exists, still answers the phone, or still likes you.
Accuracy recalibration
Closed-loop length and punch control brought to ±0.1 mm and verified on the line before handover, so studs land in tracks and trusses close without persuasion.
Design-software freedom
Keep designing in VertexBD, or in whichever LGS package your engineers already use. The controller reads a plain .csv frame render and shows the drawing before a single metre of coil moves.
Custom die punches
We design and machine die punches in our own workshop: replacements for worn OEM tooling, and new punch profiles the machine was never sold with. Fitted, mapped in the controller and proven on coil.
A console in the operator's language
The whole interface ships in English and Arabic with full right-to-left layout — every screen, not a translated subset. Further languages can be added on request.
Retrofit the brain, or rebuild the whole line.
Most machines only need a new controller. Some need more. We tell you which after a survey, not after the invoice.
Keep the iron. Replace the brain.
Frame, rollers, servos and punches stay exactly where they are. We remove the OEM controller and its DRM, fit the Zavod control unit, map every axis and sensor, and hand you an iPad that runs the machine better than the panel it replaced.
- Days of downtime, not weeks
- A fraction of the cost of a replacement line
- DRM and licence dependency gone
- Accuracy verified to ±0.1 mm on handover
Best for machines whose mechanics still hold tolerance
Rebuild the line around the controller.
When worn drives, tired encoders or an ageing servo stack cap what a controller swap can fix, we go further: new motion hardware and sensing matched to our controller from day one, on the frame and roller sets you already own.
- New servo drives, encoders and I/O
- Speed and accuracy beyond the original spec
- Safety circuits brought to current standards
- Still well under the cost of a new line
Best for older lines worth saving but showing their age
From a .csv to a finished frame, with nothing proprietary in between.
Every LGS design package can export a flat member list. That file is the whole hand-off. The controller parses it, renders the frame so the operator can sanity-check the panel, and turns each row into motion.
- 01DesignVertexBD, or any LGS CAD that exports members.
- 02Export .csvOne row per member: profile, length, punches, notches, quantity.
- 03Load on the iPadFrame rendered, cut list staged, errors flagged before you run.
- 04Form to ±0.1 mmClosed-loop length and punch control, at full line speed.
member_id,profile,length_mm,punch_web_mm,notch,dimple,qty
T-001,U92x38x0.95,6000,"600;1800;3000;4200",none,no,2
S-001,C89x41x0.95,2745,"300;1372;2445",none,yes,6
S-007,C89x41x0.95,2745,"300;1372;2445",none,yes,6
H-001,C89x41x0.95-BOX,1200,"150;1050",swage,no,1
CR-01,C89x41x0.95,640,"320",none,yes,4
J-001,C89x41x0.95,2645,"300;1372",none,yes,2Custom die punches, made in-house.
A roll former is only as useful as the holes it can put in steel. We design, machine and fit die punches on our own CNC centres, so a worn tool or a missing profile never sends you back to the OEM parts desk.
Replace worn OEM punches
Measured from your existing tooling, remade in hardened tool steel, and fitted the same visit. No part number, no lead time from abroad, no licence check before the machine accepts it.
Service holes · dimples · swages · notches
Add punches the machine never had
A new connection detail, a bigger service hole, a bracket slot your engineer wants: we design the die, machine it, add the station and teach the controller its position. The .csv just gains a column.
Designed, machined & fitted by Zavod
Three makes we know inside out. Others on request.
Controller swaps and full revamps on FRAMECAD LGS lines. OEM software and licensing removed; design files from any package, not only the bundled one.
Direct replacement of the Pinnacle control stack with the Zavod controller, mapped to the existing servo and punch layout and run from your own designs.
Retrofit and revamp packages for Howick lines, matched to their drive and roller geometry, with the same iPad interface across every make.
Another make on your floor? If it forms LGS studs, tracks or trusses, send us the model. Most lines are a fit.
The numbers that matter.
Representative figures. Every controller is mapped to the machine it goes on. We'll confirm the exact spec during the survey.
- Forming accuracy
- ±0.1 mm
- Operator interface
- iPad · MachineOS console
- Design input
- VertexBD / any LGS CAD (.csv)
- Licensing / DRM
- None
- Machines supported
- FRAMECAD · Pinnacle · Howick
- Console languages
- English · Arabic (RTL)
- Tooling
- Custom die punches, in-house
- Scope
- Retrofit or full revamp
What owners ask first.
Anything else, ask us directly. We'd rather talk it through than have you guess.
Do we have to change our design software?
No. Keep designing in VertexBD or whichever LGS package your engineers already use. The controller reads a standard .csv member export, so nothing changes upstream of the machine.
What happens to the OEM controller and licence?
They come out. The control cabinet electronics and operator panel are replaced by a Zavod control unit running MachineOS and an iPad. No dongle, no licence key, and nobody outside your building can switch the machine off.
How do you decide between a retrofit and a revamp?
A one-day survey. If the drives, encoders and mechanics still hold tolerance, a controller retrofit is enough. If they do not, we scope a revamp with new motion hardware and give you both prices side by side.
Which machines qualify?
FRAMECAD, Pinnacle and Howick LGS lines are the ones we have retrofitted most. Other makes that form LGS studs, tracks or trusses usually qualify too. Send us the model and we will confirm.
Can you make punches for profiles the machine does not have?
Yes. We design and machine die punches on our own CNC centres: replacements for worn OEM tooling, and entirely new punch profiles such as service holes, dimples, swages, notches or bracket slots. The station is added, the controller learns its position, and your .csv gains a column.
What languages does the console speak?
English and Arabic today, with full right-to-left layout — every screen, not a translated subset. The console is built so further languages can be added; tell us what your operators speak.
Who supports it after handover?
The same engineers who built it, from Dubai Industrial City. Commissioning, operator training and follow-up all happen on your floor, not over a ticket queue.
Explore other capabilities
Ready to unlock your LGS line?
Tell us the make, the model and what's slowing it down. We'll survey it, tell you straight whether it's a retrofit or a revamp, and put a fixed price on it.