Warm/hot corrugation machine and method for corrugating low-ductility foils

A method of corrugating a metal foil strip, comprising:

• providing an enclosure defining a chamber wherein the enclosure is double-walled and liquid-cooled;
• maintaining the chamber at a temperature high enough to heat the foil strip so as to permit corrugations to be formed in the strip when the strip is moved through the chamber;
• supplying and guiding the metal foil strip from outside the chamber into the chamber and to a tool set located in the chamber;
• forming corrugations in the strip using the tool set by causing the tool set to be driven by means of a drive mounted outside the chamber and coupled to the tool set;
• and
• guiding the strip from the tool set and out of the chamber.

A machine for corrugating a metal foil strip, comprising

• (a) an enclosure defining a chamber;
• (b) a controllable heat source for heating the chamber;
• (c) at least one tool set received in the chamber and adapted to form corrugations in the metal foil strip;
• (d) feeder elements supplying and guiding the metal foil strip from outside the chamber into the chamber and to the tools;
• (e) a drive for the at least one tool set mounted outside the chamber and coupled to the tool set to actuate the tool set;
• (f) delivery elements guiding the strip from the tools and out of the chamber;
• and
• (g) a tool set that includes a driven form gear having forming teeth, an idler pre-form gear having forming teeth meshing with the forming teeth of the driven form gear at a first location along the perimeter of the driven form gear and driven by the driven form gear, and an idler final form gear having forming teeth meshing with the forming teeth of the driven form gear at a second location along the perimeter of the driven form gear spaced apart from the first location and driven by the driven form gear.

A machine for corrugating a metal foil strip, comprising

• (a) an enclosure defining a chamber;
• (b) a controllable heat source for heating the chamber;
• (c) at least one tool set received in the chamber and adapted to form corrugations in the metal foil strip;
• (d) feeder elements supplying and guiding the metal foil strip from outside the chamber into the chamber and to the tools;
• (e) a drive for the at least one tool set mounted outside the chamber and coupled to the tool set to actuate the tool set;
• (f) delivery elements guiding the strip from the tools and out of the chamber;
• and
• (g) a tool set that has a driven form gear having teeth defining cavities and a punch having a tooth substantially complementary in shape to the shape of the cavities, and the drive includes a rotary drive rotating the driven form gear and a reciprocating linear actuator driving the punch radially of the form gear.

A machine for corrugating a metal foil strip, comprising

• (a) an enclosure defining a chamber;
• (b) a controllable heat source for heating the chamber;
• (c) at least one tool set received in the chamber and adapted to form corrugations in the metal foil strip;
• (d) feeder elements supplying and guiding the metal foil strip from outside the chamber into the chamber and to the tools;
• (e) a drive for the at least one tool set mounted outside the chamber and coupled to the tool set to actuate the tool set;
• (f) delivery elements guiding the strip from the tools and out of the chamber;
• and
• (g) a pre-form tool set and a final tool set, wherein both tool sets share a driven form gear having teeth defining cavities, wherein the pre-form tool set includes a pre-form punch having a tooth partially complementary in shape to the shape of the cavities, wherein the final tool set includes a final punch having a tooth substantially complementary in shape to the shape of the cavities, wherein the final punch is spaced-apart circumferentially from the pre-form punch, and wherein the drive includes a rotary drive rotating the driven form gear and a reciprocating linear actuator driving each punch radially of the form gear.

A method of corrugating a metal foil strip, comprising:

• providing an enclosure defining a chamber;
• maintaining the chamber at a temperature high enough to heat the foil strip so as to permit corrugations to be formed in the strip when the strip is moved through the chamber;
• supplying and guiding the metal foil strip from outside the chamber into the chamber and to a tool set located in the chamber;
• forming corrugations in the strip using the tool set by causing the tool set to be driven by means of a drive mounted outside the chamber and coupled to the tool set;
• and
• guiding the strip from the tool set and out of the chamber;
• wherein the corrugations are formed by a tool set that has a form gear having teeth defining cavities and driven in rotation and a punch having a tooth substantially complementary in shape to the shape of the cavities and driven linearly and reciprocally along an axis substantially radially of the form gear.

A method of corrugating a metal foil strip, comprising:

• providing an enclosure defining a chamber;
• maintaining the chamber at a temperature high enough to heat the foil strip so as to permit corrugations to be formed in the strip when the strip is moved through the chamber;
• supplying and guiding the metal foil strip from outside the chamber into the chamber and to a tool set located in the chamber;
• forming corrugations in the strip using the tool set by causing the tool set to be driven by means of a drive mounted outside the chamber and coupled to the tool set;
• and
• guiding the strip from the tool set and out of the chamber;
• wherein the corrugations are formed by a pre-form tool set and a final tool set, wherein both tool sets share a rotatably driven form gear having teeth defining cavities, wherein the pre-form tool set includes a pre-form punch having a tooth partially complementary in shape to the shape of the cavities, wherein the final tool set includes a final punch having a tooth substantially complementary in shape to the shape of the cavities, wherein the final punch is spaced-apart circumferentially from the pre-form punch, and wherein each punch is driven by a reciprocating linear actuator radially of the form gear.