Apparatus and method for the continuous and progressive shaping of metal strips to give a profile with longitudinally varying cross section

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10035179-B2
Application number	US-201514919428-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 21, 2015
Priority date	Oct 23, 2014
Publication date	Jul 31, 2018
Grant date	Jul 31, 2018

Abstract

Disclosed herein is an apparatus for the continuous and progressive shaping of metal strips to produce a formed metal strip whose cross sectional dimensions vary along a longitudinal axis thereof. The apparatus includes a device for shaping the metal strips, wherein the device has at least one tool set with at least two rotatably mounted and mutually associated tools, wherein the tools each have a pressure face disposed along an outer circumference thereof with a contour configured to shape the workpieces. The contour of the pressure face of at least one tool is not axially symmetric. In order to be able to cost-effectively produce workpieces or profiles with a variable cross section, in particular profiles with a closed cross section, it is proposed that the contours of the pressure faces of all tools, but at least of one tool set, are concave in order to generate a profile having a closed cross section.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for shaping metal strips into a formed metal piece having a wave-like contour, the apparatus comprising:
a shaping device;
an upstream-connected device in operative communication with the shaping device and disposed upstream of the shaping device, the upstream-connected device configured to unwind and cut the metal strips, the upstream-connected device including a blade roller and a support roller for cutting the metal strips to have wave-like contours along longitudinal axes of the metal strips; and
at least one tool set operably disposed in said shaping device and configured to shape the metal strips, said at least one tool set including:
at least two mutually associated shaping tools rotatably mounted in the shaping device and configured to cooperatively work together to shape the metal strips, and
a circumferential pressure face having an axially asymmetric contour defined in an outer circumference of each of said at least two shaping tools and configured to shape the metal strips to be fed thereby so as to conform to the shape of the contour, wherein said contours of said pressure faces of at least one of said at least one tool set are concave and are configured to produce shaped metal strips having a profile with a closed cross section.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of said at least one tool sets includes one of two, three, or four rotatably mounted tools.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said contour of said pressure face of at least one tool in said at least one tool set is shaped as one of a section of a circle, an oval, an ellipse, or an angular shape.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein a radius of said contour of said pressure face of at least one tool varies along a circumferential direction between a minimum radius (R min ) and a maximum radius (R max ).

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein said tools of said at least one tool set are positioned such that said pressure faces and contours thereof face each other, and together define an opening between said pressure faces through which opening the metal strips are to be passed and by which pressure faces the metal strips are to be shaped.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a welding device in operative communication with and disposed downstream of said shaping device and configured to longitudinally weld closed the metal strips that have been formed to have a closed cross section in the shaping device.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 , further comprising a post-shaping device in operative communication with and disposed downstream of said welding device and configured to post-shape the fully welded closed metal strips to a final geometry.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 , further comprising a separating device in operative communication with and disposed downstream of said post-shaping device and configured to cut closed and fully formed metal strips to a desired longitudinal length.

9. A method for continuous and progressive shaping of metal strips to produce finished parts having a longitudinally varying cross section, the method comprising:
unwinding and cutting the metal strips to have wave-like contours along longitudinal axes of the metal strips using a device comprising a blade roller and a corresponding support roller;
feeding the metal strips into an apparatus; and
shaping the metal strips fed into the apparatus by passing them through at least two shaping tools so as to bend sides of each of the metal strips to form a closed hollow tube having a longitudinal slot.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein said shaping step comprises:
pre-shaping each of the metal strips to have an open profile on one side and a cross-section that is dimensionally consistent along a longitudinal direction thereof, the shaped metal profile having substantially vertical legs, wherein at least one of a smallest radius or an at least partially smallest half cross section dimension of a final geometry is introduced to each of the metal strips; and
final shaping each of the metal strips to bring the vertical legs of the open profile together to form a closed hollow profile having a longitudinal slot defined along a length thereof.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein said pre-shaping step is performed on a first tool set and said final shaping step is performed on a second tool set, each of the first and second shaping tool sets including two mutually associated and rotatably mounted tools.

12. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, after said shaping step, welding closed a longitudinal slot present along a length of the metal strips after performance of said shaping step.

13. The method of claim 9 , further comprising, after said welding step:
post-shaping the welded metal strips with at least two mutually associated and rotatably mounted tools in a subsequent tool set; and
cutting the post-shaped metal strips into predefined lengths.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the support roller and the blade rollers have corresponding undulating edges for cutting longitudinal axes of the metal strips.

Assignees

• Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe Ag
• Thyssenkrupp Ag

Inventors

• Flehmig Thomas
• Grosserüschkamp Thomas

Classifications

• B21C37/0803 Primary

  the tubes having a special shape, e.g. polygonal tubes · CPC title

• B21C37/16

  Making tubes with varying diameter in longitudinal direction · CPC title

• B21C37/155

  Making tubes with non-circular section (B21C37/151, B21C37/154 take precedence) · CPC title

• B21D5/12

  making use of forming-rollers · CPC title

• B23K31/027

  Making tubes by soldering or welding · CPC title