Truss Deck Forming Machine | Floor Slab Production Line

Truss Floor Slab Forming Machine for Truss Deck Production

Truss Floor Slab Forming Machine

This truss floor slab forming machine produces steel bar truss deck panels: a thin galvanized base sheet with a triangular welded truss locked onto it. The truss is welded to the sheet in the factory, so the panel arrives on site as a self-supporting unit that acts as permanent formwork and as part of the floor reinforcement.

Truss Deck Compared with a Standard Floor Deck

Both products close a steel floor slab, but they carry load in completely different ways, and that changes what the machine has to do.

Item	Standard floor deck	Truss deck (steel bar truss slab)
How load is carried	Deep formed ribs act as formwork and bottom reinforcement	Thin base sheet works as formwork; the welded truss carries the load
Base sheet thickness	0.8-1.5 mm	0.5-1.2 mm galvanized
Rib form	Deep trapezoidal or re-entrant ribs, 50-153 mm	Shallow ribs and embossments only
Site reinforcement work	Top and bottom mesh tied on site	Truss arrives welded; only top bars are added
Temporary propping	Often needed on long spans	Normally not needed within rated spans
Panel delivered	Profiled sheet only	Sheet plus welded triangular truss

How the Production Line Works

Step	Unit	Function
1	Hydraulic decoiler	Uncoils galvanized strip and holds steady tension
2	Feed and straightener	Removes coil set and aligns the strip to the forming centreline
3	Base sheet roll forming unit	Progressive rolls form the carrier profile and the embossments
4	Truss welding unit	Feeds upper chord, lower chord and diagonal web bars, then welds the triangular truss
5	Spot welding unit	Welds the truss feet to the formed base sheet at fixed pitch
6	Hydraulic shear	Cuts the finished truss deck panel to the set length
7	Collection rack	Stacks panels for bundling and shipping
8	PLC control system	Sets length, quantity, welding pitch and line speed

Typical Line Configuration

The bands below describe the usual range for truss deck base sheet lines. Final values are set by the panel drawing and the truss design, because a wider panel or a heavier bar schedule changes the forming load.

Item	Typical band	Set by
Base sheet material	0.5-1.2 mm galvanized coil, yield up to about 350 MPa	Panel drawing
Panel effective width	600 mm standard, other widths built to drawing	Panel drawing
Forming stations	20 or more, depending on profile complexity	Profile design
Main forming motor	18-22 kW	Panel width and thickness
Forming speed	8-20 m/min	Line configuration
Drive	Chain drive with hardened forming rollers	Standard
Cutting	Hydraulic shear, cut to length, automatic quantity count	Standard
Control	PLC with touch screen, length and quantity setting	Standard
Coil weight	Up to about 5 t	Customer requirement
Line length	About 20-25 m including the collection rack	Shop floor layout

Truss Parameters Come from the Structural Drawing

The forming machine handles the base sheet. The truss itself is defined by the structural engineer, and the welding unit is matched to that drawing.

Parameter	Source of the value
Upper and lower chord bar diameter	Structural drawing
Diagonal web bar diameter and spacing	Structural drawing
Truss height and truss spacing across the panel	Structural drawing
Weld pitch between truss feet and base sheet	Structural drawing
Panel span table and propping requirement	Structural drawing

Output Calculation Example

Output is simply panel width multiplied by line speed multiplied by running hours. The figures below are an illustration for a 600 mm panel.

Panel width	Line speed	Output per hour	Output per 8-hour shift
600 mm	10 m/min	About 360 m2	About 2,880 m2
600 mm	15 m/min	About 540 m2	About 4,320 m2

Illustration only. Real output depends on line speed, panel width, welding pitch, cutting time and shift pattern.

Where Truss Deck Is Used

High-rise steel frame floors where site labour and propping must be cut
Long-span floors that would otherwise need temporary supports
Projects with tight floor cycles, where deck laying and rebar work must be fast
Buildings requiring consistent concrete cover and controlled crack width
Composite floors designed to work with a welded truss instead of a deep rib

Questions Buyers Ask

Question	Answer
Do I have to buy the truss welding unit with the forming machine?	No. Some buyers take the complete line with truss welding and spot welding stations, others buy the base sheet former only and feed pre-welded trusses. Tell us which arrangement fits your plant.
Is a 0.5 mm base sheet strong enough?	The sheet is designed as permanent formwork, not as the load-carrying member. The truss carries the load, so a heavier sheet would only add dead weight and cost.
Can the line run a second panel width later?	Forming rolls are cut for one profile. A different width or rib pattern needs a new roll set, and the frame is sized for the largest width you plan to run.
Why does the sheet need embossments?	They improve the mechanical grip between steel and concrete and help the finished slab work as a composite section.

Information Needed for a Quotation

Panel drawing: effective width, rib shape and embossment pattern
Truss drawing: bar diameters, truss height, truss spacing and weld pitch
Base sheet thickness and material grade
Required line speed or annual output target
Coil data: inner diameter, outer diameter, coil weight and strip width
Whether you need the base sheet former alone or the full line with truss welding and spot welding units
Site voltage, phase and required control language
Available shop floor length and width, and crane capacity