Z-bar guide apparatus and method of butt welding

A Z-Bar apparatus for guiding the edges of sheet material into substantially intimate engagement with each other as the material is moved to a welding apparatus, comprising, an elongated central guide member having upper and lower vertically offset portions which are integrally connected along at least a portion of their length and having inlet and discharge ends, said integrally connected portions being constantly reduced in dimension from said inlet end of said guide member toward said discharge end thereof, a pair of elongated upper and lower guide bar means, means for removably mounting said upper and lower guide bar means on said central guide member, a first channel defined between said upper guide bar means and said lower portion of said central guide member, a second channel defined between said lower guide bar means and said upper portion of said central guide member, said first and second channels being of a size to slidably receive the edges of the sheet material, said channels being in vertically spaced opposing relationship with each other and converging relative to one another along the length of said Z-Bar, and the inner edges of each of said channels having substantially sharp corners.

The method of continuously butt welding the opposed edges of sheet material with a welding apparatus, comprising the steps of, urging said edges into substantially aligned vertically spaced relationship with each other, continuously advancing the sheet material towards the welding apparatus while simultaneously causing said edges to converge vertically toward each other until said edges are in generally abutting edge-to-edge relationship with one another, thereafter welding said abutted edges with the welding apparatus to butt weld the edges together.

A Z-Bar structure formed of an assemblage of several parts which can be made very accurately yet inexpensively to form guide channels for guiding the edges of sheet material as the material is moved toward a welding apparatus, comprising an elongated central guide member having upper and lower vertically offset portions which are integrally connected along at least a portion of their length and having inlet and discharge ends, said integrally connected portions extending in a direction from the area of the inlet end of said guide member toward the discharge end, elongated upper and lower guide bar means, means for removably mounting said upper and lower guide bar means on said central guide member in vertically offset relationship with respect to one another on opposite sides of said central guide member, said upper guide bar means being mounted on said upper portion of said central guide member and said lower guide bar means being mounted on said lower portion of said central guide member in such a manner that a first guide channel is defined between said upper guide bar means and said lower portion of said central guide member and a second guide channel is defined between said lower guide bar means and said upper portion of said central guide member, said channels being of a size to slidably receive the edges of the sheet material in opposing relationship.

The method of continuously butt welding the opposed edges of sheet material with a welding apparatus comprising the steps of

• A. Urging said edges into opposed spaced relationship with each other;
• and
• B. Continuously advancing the sheet material towards the welding apparatus while simultaneously causing said opposed edges to converge toward each other until said edges are in generally abutting edge to edge relationship, thereafter welding said abutted edges with the welding apparatus to butt weld the edges together.