US1827452A - Method of and apparatus for flanging metal - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 13, 1931.

(3. J. ANcl 'lcR METHOD 01 AND APPARATUS FOR FLANGING METAL Filed March 16. 1 929 s Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 13, 1931.

c. J; ANCHOR METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FLANGING METAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fiied March 16, 1929 Uiafis //v vavroR (f/izckor [iron/vex Oct. 13, 1931. A CHQR 1,827,452

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FLANGING METAL Filed March 16, 1929 3 Sfieets-Shaet 3 40 tion will beapparent Patented Oct. 13,1931

; CHAR-Lensa. .Ancrronfoni/rrnron, I}

nns rtvenre, nssreivon r AMERICAN cnnnnn rounnnxcorannny, on. vnwjjronxnxg ACOBPQRATQCON on nnwvmnsn'y METHODQF Ann ,AfIfAnArus non FLANIVGING vrErAn,

Appease-ma-Mm16,1929; Sena-rm, 3475 55; 1 7

points on the longitudinalcenter line jof the v tank, vand the remainder'oii'the flange willgbe v at an obtuse angle, wlth respect to the-side sheet, and in conformityfwith the contour 'f the tank; He-retofore dome sheets hayebeen flanged in a suitable-pressto partially form the finished sheet, and their diametrically Q-P- I ,poseclfportions of the, flanges'ihave been" hammered to define a right angle. Such-a methQcl' is expensive and, time! consuming," and, therefore, one object of this; inventionis'ithe pro;

vision of amethod formeehlanieally forming the entire attachingcflangeof adomesheetl Another object on; thiszi-nvention istheprw vision of a: method; ofimechanicallyflanglng a dome sheetat oneqhea'ting thereo fir t.

A further object of he invention s thepros vision of means formechanicallyiiormingthe' attaching flange of a, domesheetfi, v

still further obfectofitheinventlon s the provision oi? means associated with ap-ress 1 for partially hanging diametri-calil -.0p-pose' portions of a dome sheet, which means'are' removable after such partial flanging where y V .fl'an-ge the dome sheet; 7, '7

Other objects and advantages o fthisinvenJ-H from, the followmg" de? scription taken conjunction with v the ac; companyi-ng draWi-ngsin-which:

Figure 1 is aside elevation of the appara tus for forming the side sheet, certain vparts being shown i-n'sectionancl "others being brokenaway vice, a portion thereof, being on thelin-e 2+2, I Fig; 1, and another-portion of the figure havingparts broken away; I

-A car tank usuallyhylihdricrl and the jhe pressi may, be: actuated, ftoacompletely f Figs-is an'end view of themale die mem position; v o 1 Fig,:4s is a front view of the press, the,fe.-

' ber, showrngaportion of-the presshead, and a showing the initial formers ini operativve maledie member anddie andthe dome sheet ,i

being shown .in section; Fig. 5 1s a detail view her showlng the wedges or inltial formers as s'ociatedi therewith; and I Fig. 6' is a sectional view of the female die of themale die mem holder with the female die-therein,.the work being shown in finished form. a

In carrying out the present methodarr apparatus is provided which-comprises broadly af urnace' A in which a dome-sheet blank is heated and a press B arranged adjacent-the furnaceandincluding a male die holder C,

aifemale die holder D a; femaledie member Eyand a malediememberF. it

The furnace A may assumev any desired form, but, in the instance sh0wn, -is mounted on'columns 2 and includes 'azsheating flue 4 defined: by fire-bricks 6;: the upper edges of which are formed to the contour of 'thef end 7 5 i of acylindricaldomesheet blank-gtoa bea '7 1 'sheetl The a hoist 8, which'maybeeithrhydrauliC or pneumatic and which includes a ram 1 0,hav;-

furnace is arranged immediately over depthithrough'the entire cireurnferenceof the irig a head12,whichsincludes spaced rails.

d 14 connected at their endsrby 'arcuatel'end' plates 16, curved to conformto the contour olithe; dome sheet blank. .Secured'to the rails I l lqad'jacent the ends thereofare; angles 18 adapted to engage the" inner; surface of the domesh'eet 'tosteady the same, *as will-be obvious from the description to follow: 7

- Aj-buggy'20 is provided which is substantially U-shaped and includes the sides 22 and an end; still 24, the buggy being mounted on wheels26 travelling on ra' over the hoist'and carryingthe dome sheet blank to be'fia'ngedrto'a, position suchthat it may be engaged by the rails 14: of the'ram lifting the blank so that the end to be flanged is; extender-,1 into the heating flu l fpt ls 28 to a position head 12 when the latter is elevated; the ram furnace, as shown in Fig. 1. The dome sheet blank comprises a cylindrical structure having overlapped side edges riveted together, as shown clearly in Fig. 6 at 29. Previous to forming the cylindrical structure, the blank has one end thereof formed to a predetermined shape, as indicated in Fig. 1; the form of the end of the blank be ing, of course, determined by the structure to which it is to be attached, which, in the present instance, is a car tank of cylindrical form.

Arranged adjacent the furnace is the press B and, extending between the furnace and press and movable so as to be disengaged from the press, are spaced rails 30 which, when the blank is being heated, are so placed that one end of each thereof is supported on the female die holder D, as shown at 31 in Figs. 1 and 2. Any form or desired type of rail support may be provided at the press, but, as illustrative of the invention, the rail supports shown in l include brackets 33 having an inverted T-shaped recess 35 formed therein which receives the rails 30. In the instance shown in the drawings, the rails merely rest on angles 32 secured to the columns 2 and may be easily moved over the angles 32, as shown clearly in full and dotted lines in 2.

When the blank, which has been desig nated as 87, has been sufficiently heated in the furnace the ram lO is lowered and the rails 80 arranged in such a position that the blank is received on the rails, following which it maybe moved thereover in any suitable manner intothe female die holder D where it issupported on a spider 34 shown more clearly in Figs, 2, 4 and 6', and which spider is mounted on the ram 36 of an air hoist 38, V

The female die holder is mounted on a platen40 which is vertically reciprocable by rams 42 of primary air hoists 43, and said platen is preferably guided during reciprocation by vertical columns 44. Inasmuch as the specific type of hoistforms no part of the present invention, the same is not described in detail. V p

The columns 44 also support a press head 46 to which is secured the male die 48, the working surface 49 of which is formed complemental to the working surface of the female die 50 arranged in female die holder D; the latter having an annular recess which supports the said die member 50, as clearly shown in the drawings.

It has been found in practice that if attempts are made to form the attaching flange of the dome sheet at one operation, the metal of the sheet is'so strained as to be liable to easy fracture, and, in fact, occasionally the metal is fractured or broken during the flanging operation. This is due, it is believed, to the action of the die members in forming the particular type of flange required for such articles as herein described. To obviate this, there have been provided suitable initial formers which, when the female die member is urged toward the male diemember, engage the heated end of the dome sheet at diametrically opposite portions of the sheet to partially flange the latter, said flanging, of course, occurring at substantially diametrically opposed portions, said portions being those which, in the finished sheet, are at right angles with respect to the sheet.

These initial formers are clearly shown in the drawings and comprise segments 52 of substantially crescent shape, theupper surfaces of which are formed to the contour of the working surfaces 49 of the die member C and which, when in use, are adapted to engage said working surface, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. These formers are pivotally secured to brackets 54 secured to die member C and are each provided with a handle 56 for lifting them to inoperative position; the arms 58 extending from the segments having a cross bar 60 extending therebetween which is adapted to be engaged by a hook 62 secured to the head 46 whereby to suspend said formers, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 5,

These formers 52 are of a length suflicient to give a gradual taper from their centers to their extremities, and are beveled in cross section whereby to partially or initially flange the dome sheet, as shown in Fig. 1, after which the die members are separated and the formers withdrawn, whereupon the die members are brought together again and the sheet is then flanged throughout its entire circumference to its desired form; those portions which have been initially flanged being further flanged at right angles with respect to thesheet on the longitudinal center line of the tank, as clearly shown in Fig. 4, the right angled flange-portions merging into the remainder of the flanged edge of the dome sheet, and the completed flanged end conforming to the contour of the tank towhich the dome-sheet is to be attached.

Following the completion of the flanging, the primary air hoists are actuated to lower the platen 40 to separate the male and female die members, and then the ram 36 of hoist 38 is actuated to elevate the kicker to lift the flanged dome sheet blank, and it may then be'removed from the female die member.

The new and improved method of forming the sheet includes first heating the end of a dome sheet and then transferringsaid sheet to a press while in its heated condition. The press isthen actuated to flange the sheet at diametrically opposite portions only an d then, without further heating, the sheet is flanged completely around the circumference at the end thereof. It is to be noted that diametriages-2,452

jected to two pressing operations which, it

may be What is claimed is:

has

' onl '40 y has been found, results in a construction in which the metal at the end of a dome sheet is not strained to excess, and, consequently,

an unfractured flange is formed, whichflange possesses the required strength.

' From the above descr1pt1on,iit is believed that the construction and operation of the apparatus'just describedwill be fully apparent to those skilled in the art, but it is not to be understoodthat the invention is limited to the specific details of disclosureas shown in the drawings, as'the drawings'are for illus--- trative purposes only, and various changes in the form and proportions of the apparatus made within the scope of the appended claims. The method specificallyrecited herein is,-of course, susceptible of modification, the applicant is limited to the specific method outlinedherein, as obviously various changes may be made within the scope of the appendedclaims without departing from the spirit of the invention. 1

1. In a press, initial predetermined portions only, said formers being removable to inoperative position to permit normal action of the diemembers.

2. In a press, die members for flanging the entire circumference of cylindrical work, and means adapted to be positioned between the members for preventing combined action of the diemembers and for initially acting on the work at spaced predetermined portions 3. In a press, die membersfor flanging the entlre circumferenceof cylindrical work, and

means adapted to be positioned between the I members for preventing combined action of V the die membersand for initially'a'cting'on the work at spaced predetermined portions only, said means beingmovable to inoperative position after initial action'topermit the die membersto act upon the entire circumference of the work.

4. In a press, male and female die mem-, bers, and means for initially acting on work in said press priorto thecombinedaction of said die members comprising circumferen-v tially formers carried by the male die memher and adapted to be interposed between said members for: acting on the work at'predetermined points, said formers being removable to permit action of the die members on the work including those portions previously formed.

5. In apress, male and female die members,

and formers pivotally secured to one of saidmembers and having one face complemental to the working face of the die member to which it is attached, saidformers being so and-it is not to be understood that,

formers {adapted to be interposed between .the die members there of for initially'acting on thework at spaced,

"the- =-entireicircmnference. of: the sheet, and

estate as Ito initially ha e predetermined portions only of' the'wlork-andrbeing remove able from between' said members to: permit 'tol-befpositioned between the. dielmembers for fomningi flanges at diametrically opposite points onz'tli'edomesheet,said formers V being removable from'ibetiveen the diemembers whereby tofpermi-tactioniof thediememto flange 'theylatter-u I onthe:entire-"circumference; the sheet 7. In a pressfor' flangi ng dome sheets, male $9 and "female. die members adapted to flange the entire circumference at one end of a. dome 1 sheet, and initial formers. connected'tothe male' diemernber and adapted fto be post. 7

tinned against; the working face thereof for partially 'flanging' the dome sheet -at.;'-predetermined points and less than the entire circumference of the sheet,jsaid formers being removable to inoperative position after partial fl'an'gingof the sheet.;whereb.yx the male and female die members completely flange the sheet 8; a press initial formers adapted to bepositioned be- I for fl'angingrdome sheets, male andfemale die members for'flanging:

tween said die members for partially flang- 7 ingsaid sheet at diametrically opposite points only prior to complete flanging' by said die members. i I

.9. Apress comprising male and female die members adapted normally for flanging the entire circumference of a tank prlsing ing surface of the male" die'member wheredome sheet and means for initially flangingspaced pre-j determined portions only of the sheet 'com- 7 V formers adapted to engage the work-- formers being removable to inoperative position to permit a'ction of the male and female die members around the entire cir-' "10. The method ,of

cumference of the dome sheet including the previously formed :fiange portions.

structure, heat ng one end thereof, pressing predetermined portions only- 0f the heated endto form flanges, and finally subjecting v i the entire circumference of theheated and partially flanged end to pressure to further flange the previously flanged portions and to u a form a continuous flange at the said heated end.

sheets which includes heating one end of a dome sheet and'then subjecting said-heated end to at least two pressings one'of'which flanges diametrically Opposite portions only and the other of'which flanges the entire 11. The method of flanging tank dome circumference of the heatedend including the previously flanged portions.

12. The method of Hanging tank dome sheets in a press which comprises placing spaced formers in the press, actuating the press to flange spaced predetermined portions only of the dome sheet, removing the formers and finally actuating the press to bend the entire circumference of thesheet, including the previously flanged portions.

13. The method of forming tank dome sheets which comprises heating-one end of a cylindrical metallic structure, flanging diametrically opposed portions only of the heated. end of the sheet,,and then Without further heating fianging the entire-circumference of the said heated end.

14. The method of forming tank dome sheets which comprises heating oneend of a cylindrical metallic structure, then bending diametrically opposed portions of said heated end to partially flange the same, and then subjecting the entire circumference of said heated end to pressure to further bend the previously bent portions and to form flanges merging with the said previously bent'portions. 7

In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES J. ANCHOR.

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