Apparatus for forming a duct

An apparatus for forming a duct from a metal web moving along a path defined by said apparatus and having a width across the path, said apparatus comprising:

• a platen assembly including a first platen contacting one face of the web and including a second platen cooperatively movable with said first platen to alternately hold and release the web;
• a table assembly including a table movable toward and away from said platen assembly along the path of the web, including a beam movably connected to said table for clamping and releasing the web, and further including a leaf hinged to a forward edge of said table, the leaf being pivotally movable to bend the web inwardly against a slanted forward face of the beam and also being vertically movable to shear the web against a lower forward corner of the beam;
• and
• a support assembly including a rod extending across the width of the web, the rod being movably mounted to one of said platen assembly or said table assembly for internally supporting an inward surface of the web during forming of the duct section and for removing the rod from the duct section prior to closing the duct section.