To provide a technique capable of preventing or suppressing fatigue failure of a vehicle underbody part material by 3DQ. A vehicle underbody part material relating to this disclosure includes: a quenched and bent steel pipe; and a plating film layer provided on a surface of the steel pipe and containing 30 mass % or more of Al and having an AlFe alloy existing in a surface thereof.

A conduit bender having a unitary frame is mounted to a wheeled base which provides for transportation of the bender. A braking assembly provides for simplified locking of the wheels to secure the bender in a location. The bender is mounted to the base through a pivoting assembly which allows for bending of conduit in either a horizontal or vertical plane. A circuit is provided for controlling the bending operation. An auto-sensing portion of the circuit receives information regarding the characteristics of the conduit to be bent upon placement of the conduit in the bender. A feedback portion of the circuit is used to provide a precise bending operation.

A conduit bender having a unitary frame is mounted to a wheeled base which provides for transportation of the bender. A braking assembly provides for simplified locking of the wheels to secure the bender in a location. The bender is mounted to the base through a pivoting assembly which allows for bending of conduit in either a horizontal or vertical plane. A circuit is provided for controlling the bending operation. An auto-sensing portion of the circuit receives information regarding the characteristics of the conduit to be bent upon placement of the conduit in the bender. A feedback portion of the circuit is used to provide a precise bending operation.

The present invention includes: a conveying mechanism (110) that conveys a workpiece (200) in the longitudinal direction; a supporting mechanism (120) that is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the workpiece (200) from the conveying mechanism (110); and a heating mechanism (130) that is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the workpiece (200) from the supporting mechanism (120) and heats the workpiece (200), in which the supporting mechanism (120) is formed to include support rolls (121) that abut on an outer surface of the workpiece (200) and each include a hollow structure (122) allowing a cooling medium to pass therethrough therein.

The present invention includes: a conveying mechanism (110) that conveys a workpiece (200) in the longitudinal direction; a supporting mechanism (120) that is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the workpiece (200) from the conveying mechanism (110); and a heating mechanism (130) that is arranged on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the workpiece (200) from the supporting mechanism (120) and heats the workpiece (200), in which the supporting mechanism (120) is formed to include support rolls (121) that abut on an outer surface of the workpiece (200) and each include a hollow structure (122) allowing a cooling medium to pass therethrough therein.

A manufacturing method for a bent member of the present invention includes a holding step of holding one end portion of a long steel material having an opening end in a longitudinal direction by a chuck, a feeding step of feeding the steel material in the longitudinal direction with the one end portion as a head after the holding step, a heating step of performing high-frequency induction heating on a portion of the steel material in the longitudinal direction to form a heated portion, a bending step of moving the chuck in a three-dimensional direction to apply a bending moment to the heated portion, and a cooling step of injecting a cooling medium to the heated portion to cool the heated portion after the bending step. When the heating step is started, the chuck is cooled by the cooling medium in a state where a heating amount applied to the one end portion when the heated portion is formed on the one end portion is greater than that of an upstream side adjacent portion adjacent to the upstream side of the one end portion as seen along a feeding direction of the steel material.

A manufacturing method for a bent member of the present invention includes a holding step of holding one end portion of a long steel material having an opening end in a longitudinal direction by a chuck, a feeding step of feeding the steel material in the longitudinal direction with the one end portion as a head after the holding step, a heating step of performing high-frequency induction heating on a portion of the steel material in the longitudinal direction to form a heated portion, a bending step of moving the chuck in a three-dimensional direction to apply a bending moment to the heated portion, and a cooling step of injecting a cooling medium to the heated portion to cool the heated portion after the bending step. When the heating step is started, the chuck is cooled by the cooling medium in a state where a heating amount applied to the one end portion when the heated portion is formed on the one end portion is greater than that of an upstream side adjacent portion adjacent to the upstream side of the one end portion as seen along a feeding direction of the steel material.

A bending apparatus has (a) a first manipulator which feeds a hollow metal blank of closed cross section in its lengthwise direction, (b) a second manipulator which supports a first support means disposed at a first position and a metal blank while feeding it, a heating means disposed at a second position downstream of the first position in the blank feed direction for heating all or part of the circumference of the blank, and a cooling means disposed at a third position downstream of the second position for cooling a portion of the heated blank, and (c) a third manipulator which constitutes a second support means disposed at a fourth position downstream of the third position in the feed direction of the blank and which moves two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally while supporting at least one location of the metal blank to bend the metal blank into a desired shape.

A bending apparatus has (a) a first manipulator which feeds a hollow metal blank of closed cross section in its lengthwise direction, (b) a second manipulator which supports a first support means disposed at a first position and a metal blank while feeding it, a heating means disposed at a second position downstream of the first position in the blank feed direction for heating all or part of the circumference of the blank, and a cooling means disposed at a third position downstream of the second position for cooling a portion of the heated blank, and (c) a third manipulator which constitutes a second support means disposed at a fourth position downstream of the third position in the feed direction of the blank and which moves two-dimensionally or three-dimensionally while supporting at least one location of the metal blank to bend the metal blank into a desired shape.

A system is provided for manufacturing a pipe bend, including: a securement structure including a securement device configured to secure a first end of a pipe and a pivot arm coupled to the securement device and configured to pivot about a pivot point to introduce a bend in the pipe; an induction ring configured to heat an annular band of a wall of the pipe; a first quenching ring configured to direct a first quenching fluid toward an outer surface of the heated annular band in the wall of the pipe; a second quenching ring configured to direct a second quenching fluid toward an inner surface of the heated annular band in the wall of the pipe; and a processor configured to control release of the first quenching fluid and the second quenching fluid such that the first quenching fluid reaches the outer surface and the second quenching fluid reaches the inner surface substantially concurrently.