Hemming head
AssigneeComau S.p.A.
InventorsMauro Maestri, Valeria Serpi, Giovanni Di Stefano, Sylvain Petit, Olivier Carqueville
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein is a new method and device for operating a hemming head of the type comprising a hemming roller (101) and a second, opposed, roller (102), which are rotatable about respective axes contained in one and the same plane. The method includes variation of the position of the second roller that is opposed to the hemming roller as a function of a signal indicating the force exerted by said second roller on the metal sheet and/or as a function of a signal indicating the position of the head along the machining path.
Claims13
A method for operating a hemming head (10) for hemming metal sheets including an outer metal sheet and an inner metal sheet, the outer metal sheet having an edge portion and an adjacent portion in communication with the edge portion, the hemming head comprising a supporting structure (20) carrying a first roller (101) and a second roller (102), which, during operation, are located in opposed positions with respect to the edge portion of the outer metal sheet to be bent and which are freely rotatable about a first axis (X1) and a second axis (X2), respectively, which are both contained in one plane, said method comprising the steps of:
- guiding said first roller in contact with said edge portion of the outer metal sheet for at least one pass and a next pass along a pre-set hemming path (T);
- guiding said second roller in contact with the adjacent portion of the outer metal sheet along the pre-set hemming path;
- and
- varying, between the at least one pass and the next pass, an inclination of said first roller (101) with respect to said second roller (102) in such a way that the inclination of said first roller will be different in the at least one pass than the next pass, in particular will be smaller in the next pass;
- said method further comprising:
- during one or more of said at least one pass and the next pass, varying the position of said second roller (102) with respect to said first roller (101), in a direction transverse to said second axis and to said pre-set hemming path, as a function of at least one of a signal indicating a force exerted by said second roller on said outer metal sheet or a signal indicating a position of said head along said pre-set hemming path.
A hemming head (10) for use in hemming metal sheets including an outer metal sheet and an inner metal sheet, the outer metal sheet having an edge portion and an adjacent portion in communication with the edge portion, the hemming head comprising:
- a supporting structure (20) comprising:
- a connection portion (22) operable to connect said hemming head to an automated-movement device, said connection portion defining a reference axis (R);
- and
- an actuator (62) having an operative axis parallel or aligned to said reference axis (R), said supporting structure carrying a first roller (101) and a second roller (102) which are freely rotatable about a first axis (X1) and a second axis (X2), respectively, said first and second axes being both contained in one plane, the supporting structure operable to locate the first roller and the second roller in opposed position with respect to the edge portion of the outer metal sheet to be bent;
- an inclination regulation device operable to regulate an inclination of said first axis (X1) in said plane;
- and
- a linear actuator (68) having a mobile member operable to vary and define a position of said second axis (X2) in a direction transverse to said second axis and contained in said plane.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.