Have you ever visited a large warehouse, building, or facility and noticed those large steel beams that span the ceilings and walls? Those are known as Z sections! Incidentally, although when you look at them end on, these sections do take on the appearance of a ‘Z’ shape, some argue that they’re so called because The term ‘Z section’ comes from ‘Z axis’ (an algebraic geometry term which defines the collective values of a group of independent supporting variables).

While this type of knowledge might appear impressive to your friends or family at a local quiz night, all you really need to know is that Z sections are most commonly used for building support in the construction, manufacturing, and transportation industries.

Steel profiles in a “Z” shape, also called Z-purlins, Z profile, are mainly used for roofs. This load-bearing component, which acts as a link between the truss structure and the roof covering, offers many advantages. It can be used as a single or multi-span bridging.

Z profile is a common cold-formed steel with thickness of generally 1.6-3.0mm and cross-section height of between 120-350mm, which made of galvanized steel. It has the advantages of adjustable size and large compressive strength, our solar panel flat roof mounting kits galvanized steel z purlin products also have the advantages of durable, strong toughness of the coating and low cost. It is widely used in solar roof brackets, etc..

Z-profiles are either edged or produced on roll-formers. The profiles issued from a roll former are only available in certain dimensions, but due to the high production speed they are very cost-effective. Whereas the production of any intermediate size is possible on a bending machine. As a standard, they are available in dimensions from 100 to 400mm height and material thicknesses from 1.5 to a maximum of 4mm. From a static point of view, Z-purlins are an alternative to wooden purlins and can span distances of up to 10m between trusses, provided that the statics have been taken into account considering factors such as roof pitch, snow zone, wind suction and any additional load. The weight of the purlin is reduced to a minimum due to the filigree cross-section and the high-performance steel used, whereby the weight advantage is noticeable in terms of costs and transport.

Profiled sheets, sandwich panels and other covering systems can easily be fixed to such Z-profiles using self-drilling screws.

They’re typically seen in constructions such as:

Mezzanine flooring

Garage doors

Metal buildings

Racking

Large storage bins

Fencing

And while some form the bones of a facility (roofing and walls), others like those listed above are used to strengthen structures within. As such, every section needs a seamless fabrication process for optimum performance, ductility, and strength. This is where roll forming comes in!

Advantages

can be customized, avoiding thus loss of materials resources

low weight and bearing capacity higher than the classical structures

quick, easy and accurate assembly

terms and costs of execution by 80% lower

can be removed and reused

the steel they are made of is not affected by weather conditions and does not change the shape in time

corrosion resistant

resistance to earthquakes higher than classical structures

So what exactly is roll forming and why use it for this process?

Roll forming is the ideal fabrication process for creating metal sections such as wall girts and roof purlins. Why? Simply because it enables secondary processing needs such as stamping and punching and, in the case of wall girts, allows for cut slits or holes along the entire length of a beam, without weakening the piece.

In essence, roll forming is the process which allows an entire sheet of metal to be progressively shaped through a series of bending operations via one or several fabricating machines. This could be either through:

Cold rolling – using coiled metal sheeting, or

Hot rolling – utilizing thick or thin metal bars known as blooms or billets.

It’s the hot rolling process which is used to produce many of the structural Z section posts and beams that we see in everyday buildings.

Z profile products are preferred as load bearing or auxiliary element in industrial constructions and steel buildings in construction, steel construction, light gauge steel construction, automotive, electricity-electronics, metal, energy etc. sectors. The profiles are used under the name of Z profile, Z purlin profile, Z tape profile, roof profile, facade profile, light gauge steel construction profile, steel construction profile, heavy steel building profile, perforated Z profile, rolled Z profile, Special production construction profile, steel building profile, prefabricated construction profile, special production Z profile, prefabricated building profile, carcass profile, truss profile, steel roofing profile etc.

Z profiles are used as purlin, stringcourse and facade profile in heavy steel industrial buildings exposed to excessive loads and as load-bearing column, beam and roof truss in non-industrial steel constructions such as light gauge steel constructions, warehouses, hangars and barns.

covering and mechanical options can be applied on the materials according to the designed and drawn projects. The specifications of the materials can be preferred as hard or soft according to the loads on them and the thickness of the galvanized covering may change according to the required resistance to corrosion or paint over hot-rolled sheet can be applied, if required.

Z profiles provide price and material advantage upto 40% compared to constructions produced in heavy steel materials due to their very high load-bearing capacities. It also makes construction of steel buildings more reliable, fast and affordable by virtue of providing convenience in production, procurement, shipment and assembly.

Z profiles are more reliable and preferred on roofs, beams or columns as they do not have breakage of parts. Steel construction systems, essential in developed countries, is the most proper construction system especially for earthquake-prone countries. Besides this, they are preferred due to the fact they are easy to carry, add-remove parts to and from, are eco-friendly and recyclable.

How do I know my wall girts from my roof purlins?

Before you say that one is used to support the roof and the other to support the wall, you might want to consider that each is slightly different in design. Z-section roof purlins, for instance, are asymmetric sections containing uneven flange widths. This allows them to be overlapped to maintain that all important structural continuity. Wall Girts on the other hand usually contain a shop welded clip which bolts on to the supporting wall panel. Girts work in conjunction with columns to strengthen the vertical load while purlins create a horizontal diaphragm that provides support to any roof structure, flooring, or decking.

So there you have it, everything you need to know about Z sections

If you’re in the construction or manufacturing industry and need help fabricating your Z-sections, we know a team of guys who can assist! Call Metro Steel today on 07 3204 1000 and talk to one of our experts.