From Concept to Completion in Five Days: Pavlos Hanna’s Custom Bar Roller

When a customer needs a solution fast, there’s no time to wait around for the perfect piece of equipment to arrive. For Pavlos Hanna, owner of Specialty Engineering Solutions, that challenge became the catalyst for an impressive project that earned him recognition in the Edcon Steel Project Competition.

Based in Kings Park, just minutes from Edcon Steel’s Blacktown store, Speciality Engineering Solutions specialise in fabrication, machining, welding and custom metal work. With a background in mechanical and mechatronic engineering and experience across civil, aeronautical, biomedical and electrical fields, Pavlos brings both theoretical knowledge and hands-on skill to every job.

The Challenge: Safety Bars on a Tight Deadline

“A lot of my work is from walk-in customers, where they need a part within a couple of days,” Pavlos explains.

One such customer approached him with an urgent need. They required partial hoop safety bars, or semi-circular bars, designed to form protective guards as part of an assembly line system.

There was just one problem: Pavlos didn’t have a bar roller in the workshop and buying a commercial bar roller for a one-off project wasn’t financially viable for the client, or necessary for the workshop long term.

The Design Process: CAD, Calculations and Practical Constraints

The planning phase moved quickly, with the design completed in just one day. Designing the roller in SolidWorks, Pavlos started by considering the largest material size he would need this machine to roll.

He settled on a 100mm width capacity. Conveniently, he already had 100mm C-channel previously sourced from Edcon Steel for another project, which helped define the machine’s proportions.

From there, he determined the maximum bar thickness required, performed hand calculations, sized the side plates, rollers and bearings, and confirmed clearances and tolerances.

“All the modelling and sizing was done in CAD, and then hand calculations were used to confirm the thicknesses and structural requirements,” Pavlos explains.

“The limiting factor was actually the size of the bearings I could source quickly enough,” he says.

Materials Used: Structural Strength Where It Counts

Most of the raw materials for the roller were sourced from Edcon Steel’s Blacktown store.

Pavlos built the frame and structure using mild steel flat plates and 100mm C-channel. For the rollers themselves, Pavlos selected high tensile steel, specifically selecting a grade suitable for hardening in the future.

“The rollers ideally should be hardened,” he explains. “Using high tensile steel means I can case harden or fully harden them later for longevity.”

Meanwhile, the mild steel frame was sized appropriately based on calculated loads.

“Mild steel with the selected thickness was sufficient. It’s also cheaper and easier to machine,” he says.

For a professional workshop handling fast-turnaround jobs, that balance of performance and machinability is essential.

The Build: Milling, Machining and Precision Work

With the design finalised and the materials sources, Pavlos moved into fabrication.

“I started off with the side plates, because they had the most work in them,” he explains.

He began by cutting the flat plate to length, then moved to the milling machine to drill the required holes. The large central opening was formed by drilling the four corners and machining out the section with an end mill.

For the bearing recesses, he mounted the plate onto a rotary table using the central hole, allowing him to machine the circular seats accurately and test-fit the bearings as he went.

The rollers were machined from solid bar, with the diameters turned first and gears milled into them so they would rotate evenly together. He then cut and drilled the C-channel sections and bolted them into the main frame. Finally, the threaded rod was machined and fitted with a captive nut system, with a top nut added so it could be driven easily with a socket.

The Result: Better Than Expected

For an in-house machine built under time pressure, the performance exceeded expectations.

“I thought I might have a couple of issues rolling the first few bars, but from the very first test bar it came out right,” he explains

The motor delivered consistent torque and smoother rolling, dramatically improving efficiency and output quality.

The bars rolled cleanly and uniformly, and there were no unexpected learning curves or alignment issues. The semi-circular safety hoops were delivered on schedule, and the workshop gained a valuable new piece of equipment in the process.

All in just five days!

A Long-Term Edcon Steel Customer

Pavlos has been shopping at Edcon Steel since his university days.

As a student, he appreciated being able to purchase small sections rather than full commercial quantities. Today, as a business owner, he values the convenience and service.

“Being able to grab material on the day without the lead time is just very convenient,” he says.

“The guys there know what they have in stock. They know how to help out,” he explains.

For projects where material must be cut precisely to maximise yield from a full 6.5m bar, he says the team is highly accommodating.

Inspired by Pavlos’ project?

Explore Edcon Steel’s range of silver steel, gauge plate and precision metals, with custom-cut options and Australia-wide delivery. Browse our stores in Brookvale, Revesby, Blacktown, Bathurst, and Orange, or check out the full range online. With Australia-wide delivery, getting started is easy.