Process for making a stamped tubular form with integral bracket and products made by the process
AssigneeMiddleville Tool & Die Co.
InventorRobert L. Middleton, Jr.
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The provided process creates a stamped tubular form with integral bracket by feeding a metal strip with a first thickness into a stamping tool containing a plurality of stations. Material is removed from the metal strip, leaving behind a tubular blank with an integral bracket. The tubular blank is formed by a forming station into a U-shaped form containing walls. The walls are closed in a closure station into a tubular shape wherein the edges of the walls are abutted and compressed, forming a tubular form which increases the metal thickness. This invention includes products formed by this process.
Claims9
A process for making a stamped tubular form containing an integral bracket comprising the steps of:
- providing a sheet of flat metal stock having a first wall thickness;
- punching a blank stock containing an integral bracket and a tubular blank from said flat sheet of metal;
- forming said tubular blank using a stamping die of a plurality of successive stamping dies into a partially closed form containing two wall members, each having a longitudinal edge;
- bending a portion of said two wall members toward one another in another of said plurality of successive stamping dies until said longitudinal edges are proximate one another substantially forming a tubular shape;
- abutting said longitudinal edges of said tubular shape;
- stamping the substantially formed tubular work piece in yet another of said plurality of successive stamping dies to tightly abut said at least two opposing edges against one another, closing a seam of the tubular work piece, and compacting the substantially formed tubular work piece into a finished tubular work piece;
- and wherein the process further comprises coining an indentation in said tubular blank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.