Process for making a stamped tubular form with integral bracket and products made by the process

摘要

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.

主权项

1. 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.