Method and apparatus for in-situ leveling of progressively formed sheet metal
AssigneeGenCell Corporation
InventorJeffrey Peter Allen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A stretch-forming press for stamping continuously fed sheet metal includes a ram, a base member, and a feed mechanism configured to advance a strip of sheet metal through the stretch-forming press. A forming station has a die configured to form a desired pattern in the strip of sheet metal. A leveling station has a pair of opposed jaws slidably received in corresponding recesses of the stretch-forming press, with the jaws oriented at an angle with respect to a direction of travel for the strip of sheet metal as it passes through the leveling station.
Claims29
A method of reducing distortion in a stamped sheet metal strip comprising the steps of:
- providing a stretch-forming press having a main forming station and a leveling station, the leveling station having a pair of jaws, each jaw being slidably received in a recess inclined at an acute angle with respective to a direction of travel of a strip of sheet metal through the stretch-forming press;
- stamping a desired pattern on the strip of sheet metal at the main forming station by closing the stretch-forming press;
- advancing the strip of sheet metal through the stretch-forming press in a direction of travel a desired distance such that the desired pattern is aligned with the leveling station;
- and
- closing the stretch-forming press such that the jaws of the leveling station engage the strip of sheet metal and stretch a portion of the strip of sheet metal containing the desired pattern in the direction of travel a selected distance as the jaws slide into the respective recesses when the stretch-forming press is closed.
A stretch-forming press for continuous feed sheet metal comprising, in combination:
- a ram;
- a base member;
- a forming station having a die configured to form a desired pattern in a strip of sheet metal;
- a leveling station having a pair of opposed jaws slidably received in corresponding recesses, the jaws oriented at an angle with respect to a direction of travel for a strip of sheet metal through the leveling station, the leveling station being positioned downstream of the forming station with respect to a strip of sheet metal passing through the forming station and the leveling station;
- and
- a feed mechanism configured to advance a strip of sheet metal through the forming station and the leveling station.
A stretch-forming press for continuous feed sheet metal comprising, in combination:
- a ram;
- a base member;
- a pre-forming station having a pair of spaced apart dies configured to mate with recesses formed in the base member to form alignment recesses in a strip of sheet metal to be shaped, each die being surrounded by a jaw, each jaw biased toward the base member by a biasing member;
- a main forming station having a pair of spaced apart jaws configured to mate with alignment recesses formed in a strip of sheet metal at the pre-forming station, each of the spaced apart jaws biased toward the base member by a biasing member, and a die configured to form a desired pattern in a strip of sheet metal passing through the main forming station;
- a leveling station having a pair of opposed jaws slidably received in corresponding recesses of the stretch-forming press, the jaws oriented at an angle with respect to a direction of travel for a strip of sheet metal passing through the leveling station and jaw biased toward the base member by a biasing member, the leveling station being positioned downstream of the pre-forming station and the main forming station with respect to a strip of sheet metal passing through the forming station and the leveling station;
- and
- a feed mechanism configured to advance a strip of sheet metal through the pre-forming station, the main forming station, and the leveling station.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.