TH79879A - The process for forming the bend control structure in the sheet material. The resulting material sheet And a set of dies for that - Google Patents

Abstract

DC60 A process for forming a bend control structure, such as a channel, groove, or moving member ( 22 ), in sheet material ( 21, 121, 221, 321, 421, 521, 621, 721). The bend control structure ( 22 ) has a central section ( 26 ) extending relatively parallel to the desired bend line ( 23 ) on the sheet, and an end section ( 27 ) deflected away from the bend line ( 23 ). In one embodiment, the process includes the step of forming a bending strip ( 24 ) between pairs of channel end sections ( 27 ) a desired distance apart along the bend line ( 23 ), such that the bending strips ( 24 ) have the desired shape, and the step of forming a central section ( 26 ) that connects the end sections ( 27 ) to form a complete channel using separate dies. A plurality of end dies ( 51/54 ) can be used to produce end sections ( 27 ) of various shapes and strips ( 24 ) of various widths, and a single central forming die ( 71/74 ) is used to join the end sections ( 27 ). In another embodiment, a set of dies used to produce a single end section ( 27 ) or a mirror image stamp ( A, B ) is used and, where appropriate, is overlapped to produce a complete bend control structure ( 22 ). A modular die set ( 500 ) is also disclosed wherein the bend control structure can be produced using modular die inserts ( 511-514, 611-614 ). Finally, a selection of die sets ( 722a, 722b, 722c ) of various lengths A series of dies can be made to position the bending strip ( 24 ) at a desired location along the bending direction. A process for forming a bending control structure, such as a channel, groove, or moving section ( 22 ), in sheet material ( 21, 121, 221, 321, 421, 521, 621, 721). The bending control structure ( 22 ) has a central section ( 26 ) extending relatively parallel to the desired bending direction ( 23 ) on the sheet, and an end section ( 27 ) deflected away from the bending direction ( 23 ). In one embodiment, the process includes the step of forming the bending strip ( 24 ) between pairs of end sections ( 27 ) a desired distance apart along the bending direction ( 23 ), such that the bending strip ( 24 ) has the desired shape, and the step of forming an intermediate section ( 26 ) that connects the end sections ( 27 ) to form a complete channel using a series of Separate dies, a plurality of end dies ( 51/54 ) can be used to produce end sections ( 27 ) of various shapes and strips ( 24 ) of various widths, and a single central forming die ( 71/74 ) is used to connect the end sections ( 27 ). In another embodiment, a set of dies to produce a single end section ( 27 ) or a mirror image stamp ( A, B ) is used and, where appropriate, is overlapped to produce a complete bend control structure ( 22 ). A modular die set ( 500 ) is also disclosed wherein the bend control structure can be produced using modular die inserts ( 511-514, 611-614 ). Finally, a selection of die sets ( 722a, 722b, 722c ) of various lengths A set of die sets can be made to position the bending strip ( 24 ) at the desired position along the bending line.

Claims (59)

1. The process of forming controlled bending structures in sheet material: These structures are positioned along the desired bending line on alternating sides of the bending line and in a relative longitudinal motion. Each structure has a central section that extends relatively parallel to the bending line and ends that deflect from the opposite end of the central section to define the bending strip between the adjacent longitudinal ends. The process consists of three steps: forming the bending strip between the adjacent longitudinal structures at the desired position relative to the bending line; forming the ends of the structures in the sheet material to define the bending strip; and forming the central section that connects the ends to obtain the complete structure, with each step being separate. 2. The process as specified in Claim 1, where the middle section forming step is performed after the strip bending forming step. 3. The process described in Claim 1, whereby the forming of the bending strip is achieved by forming the first pair of transversely separated end sections to the sheet of material on opposite sides of the bending line using end forming dies; the rotation of the end forming dies by an amount relatively equal to the angle between two given sides of the bent end; one movement of the end forming die and the sheet of material to a moving position where the end forming dies are positioned at a desired distance from the first pair of end sections; and the forming of the second pair of transversely separated end sections at the moving position. 4. The process described in claim 3, in which the end is curved and bent away from the bending line at an angle between two sides of approximately 90 degrees, and the rotational step is achieved by rotating the end forming die at an angle of approximately 90 degrees. 5. The process described in claim 3, in which the end is curved and bent away from the bending line at an angle between two sides of approximately 60 degrees, and the rotational step is achieved by rotating the end forming die at an angle of approximately 60 degrees. 6. The process as specified in claim 3, whereby the middle section forming step is achieved using a middle section forming die to connect one end of the first pair of ends to one end of the second pair of ends on the same side of the bending line. 7. The process as specified in claim 6, whereby the center section forming step is achieved using a center section die of a length less than the length of the center section to be formed, and the segment forming step of the length of the center section, one movement of the sheet material and the center section die, and the forming of another segment of the length of the center section, and the repeating of the segment forming step until the full length of the center section is formed. 8. The process as specified in claim 7, whereby the segment forming step is achieved on a rotary punch using a rapid stroke while moving the sheet material. 9. The process as described in claim 6, whereby the end forming and middle forming steps are achieved using end and middle forming dies adapted to produce channels that completely penetrate the thickness of the sheet material. 10. The process as specified in Claim 9, where the end shaping die and the middle shaping die are rotary drilling dies. 11. The processes described in Claim 1 and the procedures for varying the appearance and spacing of bending strips to produce a number of varying product shapes; small-volume line processing of sheet material using the varying shapes; forming of bent structures for the varying shapes from the small-volume line; and selection of the appearance of the bending strips and spacing depending on the bent structure. 12. The process of forming the controlled bending structure in sheet material. Each such structure has a central section that extends relatively parallel to the desired bending line and ends that deflect from the opposite end of the central section. This involves the following steps: forming one deflected end in the sheet material at the desired position along the bending line using an end forming die; forming a second end in the sheet material at a predetermined position further along the bending line from the first end using an end forming die; and forming the central section that connects the first and second separated ends. 13. The process as specified in claim 12, where the middle forming step occurs using the middle forming die after the first and second end forming steps. 14. The process as specified in claim 13, whereby the middle section forming step is achieved using a number of forming steps with a middle section die whose length is less than the length of the middle section to be formed. 15. The process described in claim 12, whereby the second end forming step is achieved by forming a second end whose shape is a near mirror image of the first end. 16. The process as specified in claim 15, in which the second end is formed by rotating the end forming die by an amount equal to the angle between two given sides of the first deviated end. 17. The process described in Requisition 12, where a number of bending structures are formed on alternating sides of the bend in a longitudinally overlapping manner with the longitudinally adjacent structure of the bend that defines the bend strip, between which there is a centerline that slopes across the bend, and where the first end forming step is repeated several times at different positions on one side of the bend and repeated several times on the other side of the bend; the second end forming step is repeated several times at different positions on one side of the bend and repeated several times on the other side of the bend to define a number of bend strips that have the desired appearance together with the first end; the middle forming step is repeated several times on both sides of the bend to complete the formation of such structure. 18. The process described in claim 17, whereby the second end forming step on one side of the bending line is achieved by rotating the end forming die to an angle approximately equal to the angle between two given sides of the bent end, and the second end forming step on the other side of the bending line is achieved by rotating the same end forming die to an angle approximately 180 degrees and then rotating the same die to an angle approximately equal to the angle between two given sides from a 180-degree directional position. 19. The process as specified in claim 12, whereby the first and second end forming steps are achieved using curved end forming dies. 20. The process as specified in claim 12, whereby the forming process shapes the controlled bending structure which is a channel. 21. The process as described in Claim 12, in which the forming process moves areas of the sheet material to form a controlled bending structure. 22. The process described in Claim 12, where an end forming die is deployed to form two transversely spaced ends of the bend control structure on opposite sides of the bending line to define a bending strip with the desired appearance, and the first end forming step simultaneously forms one end on the other bend control structure on opposite sides of the bending line. 23. The process of forming the bend control structure in sheet material. The structure is aligned along the desired bending line on alternating sides of the bend and in a relative longitudinal motion, with each structure having a central section protruding relatively parallel to the bending line and ends bent away from the opposite ends of the central section to define the bending strip between the adjacent longitudinal ends. The process consists of forming steps using a right-end die and a left-end die to form the complete bend control structure. Each right-end die and left-end die has end sections and segments of the central section of the structure. The forming steps are achieved by aligning the dies for the position of the central segment of each die in alignment with each other. 24. The process as described in claim 26, where the forming step is achieved by overlapping the segments of the central part of each die. 25. The process specified in claim 23, whereby the right-end forming step is achieved by arranging the segments of the center of each die apart along the bend and connecting the separated segments of the center of each die using a segment forming die. 26. The process described in claim 23, where the forming steps are achieved by using one die to form a portion of each structure at intervals along the bend on both sides of the bend, and then another die is used to form the remaining portion of each structure along the bend on both sides of the bend. 27. The process as specified in claim 26, where the forming step is achieved using a rotary punch. 28. Die set for forming bend control structures in sheet material. The bend control structure includes a central section to be positioned relatively parallel to the desired bending line and ends that are offset from the bending line at opposite ends of the central section. The die set consists of at least one end die set with matching die faces that are formed to produce at least one end section of the desired shape, and one central die set with matching die faces that are formed to produce at least one segment of the central section of the bend control structure using a single stroke of the central die set. 29. The die set as specified in claim 28, where the end forming die set is formed to produce two control bending ends which are positioned at the desired transverse distances apart on opposite sides of the bending line. 30. A die set as specified in claim 28, in which the center forming die set has matching die faces that produce relatively linear center segments, with one end of the die being close to the vertical line with the sheet material and the opposite end of the die gradually sloping toward the sheet material. 31. The dies as specified in claim 28 and a number of end dies with different end shapes suitable for joining together by a linear middle section die set and a middle section die set with matching surfaces that produce linear middle segments. 32. The die sets as specified in claim 31, each end forming die set is formed to produce two controlled bending ends located at transversely spaced positions on opposite sides of the bending line. 33. Die set for forming bend control structures in sheet material. The bend control structure includes a central section that is positioned relatively parallel to the desired bending line and ends that deviate from the bending line at opposite ends of the central section. The die set consists of a right-end die set with matching die faces that is formed to produce the desired right-end shape and segment of the central section of the structure, and a left-end die set with matching die faces that is formed to produce the desired left-end shape and segment of the central section of the structure. 34. A set of dies as specified in claim 33, where the right end forming die and the left end forming die are formed to produce ends that are mirror images of each other. 35. The process of forming at least one controlled bending structure in a sheet of material. Such structure has a central section that protrudes relatively parallel to the desired bending line and ends that deflect from the opposite ends of the central section. It consists of steps of simultaneously forming a pair of deflected ends and the central section in the sheet of material at the desired position along the bending line using predefined forming dies, punches, and forming dies. 36. The process as specified in claim 35, which includes the forming of a pre-selected number of controlled bending structures along the said bend in the said sheet. 37. The processes specified in Claim 36 and the procedures for one variation of the appearance and spacing of the bending control structures to produce a number of variations of the prototype; the operation of the sheet material production line using the variations of the prototype; the forming of the bending structures for the variations of the prototype from the production line; the selection of the appearance of the prototype bending control structure and the spacing dependent on the bending structure; the creation of the production dies using the selected appearance of the prototype bending control structure and spacing; and the operation of the sheet material production line using the bending control structures with the dies, forming dies and punching dies used for production. 38. The method for fabricating a three-dimensional product from a single sheet of material involves the following steps: forming a number of controlled bending structures into the sheet of material; each such structure has a central section that protrudes relatively parallel to the desired bending line and has ends that deflect from the opposite ends of the central section; forming additional pre-selected controlled bending structures along further predetermined bends in the sheet of material; and bending the sheet of material along these bends to form the desired three-dimensional product. 39. The method of claim 38 in which the three-dimensional product is a product used to bear the load. 40. The process for positioning the bend control structures in a sheet material to be bent along at least one bending line consists of the following steps: positioning the bend control structures protruding near one edge of the bending section with one of: the middle part of the bend control structure parallel to the bending line protruding to the edge at a distance from the end of the bend control structure sufficiently far from the edge to prevent localized bending of the sheet material at the edge in a direction perpendicular to the bending line; and the end of the bend control structure defining the bending strip with an edge shaped similarly to the shape of the bending strip between adjacent bend control structures along the longitudinal direction; and selecting the length and number of bend control structures along the bending line toward the edge to produce the required number of bending strips positioned along the bending line toward the edge to produce a bending section with the required strength. 41. The process as specified in Claim 40 and the procedure for aligning the bending strip along the bending line toward the inner edge in a forced position, the bending stress in the bending strip is removed from any specific structurally fragile areas in the sheet material. 42. The process as specified in claim 40 and the procedure for positioning multiple bending bars closer to the edge than the number of bending bars per unit length along the remainder of the bending line. 43. The process as specified in claim 42, whereby the alignment procedure is achieved by shortening the length of the bending control structure near the edge. 44. The process as described in claim 40, whereby a bending control structure near the edge defines a bending strip with increasing transverse width dimensions. 45. The process as described in claim 40, in which the bending control structure has ends formed to deflect from the bending line by a centrally aligned oblique direction extending across the bending line. 46. The process described in claim 45, where the overhang is at an angle to the bending line and the alignment procedure is achieved by aligning the bending control structure with a bending end that bends in the same direction as the overhang. 47. The process as specified in claim 45, whereby the alignment procedure is achieved by aligning the central portion to the edges by a bent end that bends in a direction toward the vulnerable areas of the sheet material. 48. A sheet of material formed for precise bending along at least one bending line consists of several bending control structures formed thereon along the alternating sides of the bending line extending to one edge of the sheet. The bending control structures include a central section oriented relatively parallel to the bending line and at least one end connected to the central section and offset from the bending line, and adjacent ends along the length of the bending control structure that define the bending strip between them, with a central longitudinal axis extending obliquely across the bending line, and the bending control structure closest to the edge having its central section extending to the edge with its ends sufficiently offset from the edge to prevent localized deformation of the edge when bending the sheet. 49. The sheet material as specified in Response 48 is formed with a structurally fragile section near the bending line, and the bending control structure is positioned along the bending line near such structural section in a manner that prevents the spread of cracks to and the concentration of stresses at such structural section. 50. A sheet of material as specified in claim 48, where a bend control structure near the edge shall define a bending strip with a cross-sectional area per unit length increasing along the bend compared to the cross-sectional area of the bending strip per unit length on the rest of the bend. 51. A sheet of material as specified in claim 50, where the number of bent strips having a cross-sectional area per unit length of the bend near the edge is greater than the area farther from the edge. 52. Sheet material as specified in claim 50, where the width of the bending strip near the edge is greater than the width farther from the edge. 53. A modular die for forming bend control structures around the bending line in sheet material consists of a die housing with channels formed there for receiving and mounting several modular dies into the die housing, and several modular dies mounted in the channels, including at least one modular end die suitable for forming the ends of the bend control structure that deviate from the bending line, and at least one separate modular middle die suitable for forming at least one segment of the middle section of the bend control structure that extends relatively parallel to the bending line. The modular end dies and modular middle dies are positioned in a bracing manner in the channels and are formed together so that the modular die is used to produce a continuous bend control structure in the sheet material. 54. Modular dies as specified in claim 53, in which a channel extends relatively along the length of the bend, and modular die components are installed in such channel. 55. A modular die as specified in claim 53, in which several modular end die sections and at least one modular middle die section are installed in such channel. 56. Modular dies as described in claim 53, where the modular die is a male modular die and a second die housing containing a second channel with a second modular die being formed there. The second modular die is a female modular die whose shape is formed in conjunction with the male modular die to produce a bending control structure. 57. Forming Process of Bending Control Structures in Sheet Material. These structures are aligned along the desired bending line on alternating sides of the bend and in a relative longitudinal motion to define the bending strips between adjacent bending control structures longitudinally. The process consists of the following steps: preparing a group of die sets where each die in the group is formed to produce complete bending control structures of varying lengths for a single die stroke; selecting a combination of dies from the group to achieve the desired alignment and appearance of the bending strips along the bend; and using the selected die combination to die-drill the bending control structures into the sheet material at the desired positions. 58. The process described in claim 57, whereby the preparation procedure is accomplished by preparing a number of dies whose lengths differ from the shortest die by an amount equal to the total number multiplied by the shortest length. 59. The process as specified in claim 57, where the preparation step includes the preparation step of at least the second group of dies of different lengths and ends of the bending control structures which are shaped differently from the ends of the bending control structures in the first group, and where the selection step is achieved by selecting from both the first and second groups.