| 摘要 |
<p>A method of making a sheet metal article comprises the steps of forming a workpiece of lesser area than that of the article, slitting an area of the workpiece corresponding to a non-functional zone of the article to render the non-functional zone extendable, shaping the remainder of the workpiece as needed, and extending the non-functional zone to produce the article. By reducing the size of that part of the workpiece corresponding to the non-functional zone of the finished article, materials are saved in the manufacture of the article. The slitting may be such as to define a plurality of interconnected tongues (11) extending in the longitudinal direction of the non-functional zone, or a plurality of interconnected strips extending in the transverse direction. Thus, the extending of the non-functional zone may be in either the longitudinal or the transverse direction. The invention also extends to articles made by the method of the invention.</p> |
