Method of and apparatus for the manufacturing of metal profile members, especially steel profile members

Apparatus for manufacturing steel profile members of open or closed construction from a continuous steel band of uniform wall thickness, wherein at least one predetermined portion of each of said profile members has a cross-sectional thickness greater than said wall thickness of said band, said apparatus comprising:

• (a) means for continuously feeding without interruption a continuous steel band of uniform wall thickness over its entire cross-sectional width along a predetermined path;
• (b) means along said path for continuously heating at least one predetermined portion of the cross-sectional width of said steel band, said heated portion being intermediate opposite longitudinal edges of said steel band with other portions extending from opposite sides of said heated predetermined portion towards the edges of said steel band;
• (c) means along said path downstream of said heating means for continuously hot-shaping and deforming said at least one heated predetermined portion of the cross-sectional width of said steel band at at least one location along said path and comprising means for conveying at least one of said other portions of said band at opposite sides of said heated predetermined portion transverse to the feed direction of said band along said path a predetermined distance towards said heated portion to continuously direct flow of steel in said heated portion transverse to the feed direction of said band along said path and increase the volume of steel and reshape and increase the wall thickness of said heated portion while the wall thickness of the remainder of said cross-sectional width of said steel band remains unchanged and at its original wall thickness, said conveying means comprising at least one means, spaced along a line extending transverse to said predetermined path, for engaging only a segment of each of said other portions at opposite sides of said heated portion;
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• (d) means along said path, at at least one other location along said path, for continuously bending by cold-shaping said at least one other portion of said cross-sectional width of said steel band while the thickness of said at least one other portion remains unchanged and at its original wall thickness.

A method for manufacturing steel profile members of open or closed construction from a continuous steel band of uniform wall thickness, wherein at least one predetermined portion of each of said profile members has a cross-sectional thickness different than said wall thickness of said band, said method comprising:

• (a) providing a source of a continuous steel band of uniform wall thickness over its entire cross-sectional width;
• (b) continuously feeding without interruption said steel band along a predetermined path;
• (c) continuously heating at least one predetermined portion of the cross-sectional width of said steel band, said heated portion being intermediate opposite longitudinal edges of said steel band with other portions extending from opposite sides of said heated predetermined portion towards the edges of said steel band;
• (d) hot-shaping and deforming the at least one heated predetermined portion of said steel band by engaging only a segment of at least one of the other portions of said band at opposite sides of said heated predetermined portion with a conveying means and conveying said at least one other portion of said band transverse to the feed direction of said band along said path to change the volume of steel and change the wall thickness of said portion while the wall thickness of the remainder of said cross-sectional width of said steel band remains unchanged and at its original wall thickness;
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• (e) continuously bending by cold-shaping at least one of said other portions of said cross-sectional width of said steel band while the thickness of said at least one other portion remains unchanged and at its original thickness.

Apparatus for manufacturing steel profile members of open or closed construction from a continuous steel band of uniform wall thickness, wherein at least one predetermined portion of each of said profile members has a cross-sectional thickness greater than said wall thickness of said band, said apparatus comprising:

• (a) means for continuously feeding without interruption a continuous steel band of uniform wall thickness over its entire cross-sectional width along a predetermined path;
• (b) means along said path for continuously heating at least one predetermined portion of the cross-sectional width of said steel band, said heated portion being intermediate the opposite longitudinal edges of said steel band with other portions extending from opposite sides of said heated predetermined portion towards the edges of said steel band;
• (c) means along said path downstream of said heating means for continuously hot-shaping and deforming the at least one heated predetermined portion of said steel band and comprising means for conveying at least one of the other portions of said band at opposite sides of said heated predetermined portion transverse to the feed direction of said band along said path to change the volume of steel and change the wall thickness of said heated predetermined portion while the wall thickness of the remainder of said cross-sectional width of said steel band remains unchanged and at its original wall thickness, said conveying means comprising at least two means, spaced along a line extending transverse to said predetermined path, for engaging only a segment of each of said other portions at opposite sides of said heated portion;
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• (d) means along said path, at at least one other location along said path, for continuously bending by cold-shaping at least one of said other portions of said cross-sectional width of said steel band while the thickness of said at least one other portion remains unchanged and at its original wall thickness.