Method and apparatus for manufacturing bent products

摘要

The invention relates to apparatus and methods for manufacturing a bent product by press bending a malleable material. The bent product is bent along the lengthwise axis and has a bottom wall and at least one sidewall in cross section. The apparatus preferably includes a die having within its surface a recess. The recess is bent along the lengthwise axis. The apparatus also includes a punch that may be inserted into the recess of the die. The die and the punch substantially correspond to each other such that the die and the punch include a first portion having a first bend radius corresponding to a lengthwise bend in the bent product and a second portion having a second bend radius corresponding to a linear region of the bend product. If the first bend radius is smaller than the second bend radius, chamfered faces formed in the die and punch are shallower and narrower in the first bend radius than the second bend radius. This relationship permits the folding of the material within the lengthwise bend region to be completed before the folding of the material by the die and punch regions having the larger bend radius.