A new method of building a vehicle wheel utilizing hydro forming from a solid piece of steel metal sheet.

A method of forming a part includes: inserting a blank into a die, the die comprising a mold mounted above a sealing counterpart; clamping the blank between the mold and the sealing counterpart; applying first pressure on the blank from the sealing counterpart so the blank is pressed upward to form a shaped part corresponding to the mold; applying a vacuum to the shaped part to hold it against the mold also after separating the mold and the sealing counterpart, the vacuum applied through at least one opening in the mold located in a corner of the mold that the blank does not reach when the first pressure is applied; and discontinuing the vacuum to allow the shaped part to be released from the mold.

A press machine includes a frame, a press shaft, a lower mold support rotatably attached to the frame about a first axis line and configured to support a lower mold, a lower mold support rotating device configured to rotate the lower mold support about the first axis line, a scrap shooter configured to receive a scrap falling from the lower mold, and a link member one end part of which is rotatably coupled to the lower mold support about a second axis line, Wherein the scrap shooter has one end side rotatably coupled to the other end part of the link member about a third axis line, and has the other end side rotatably supported by the frame or another support member about a fourth axis line.

A press machine includes a frame, a press shaft, a lower mold support rotatably attached to the frame about a first axis line and configured to support a lower mold, a lower mold support rotating device configured to rotate the lower mold support about the first axis line, a scrap shooter configured to receive a scrap falling from the lower mold, and a link member one end part of which is rotatably coupled to the lower mold support about a second axis line, Wherein the scrap shooter has one end side rotatably coupled to the other end part of the link member about a third axis line, and has the other end side rotatably supported by the frame or another support member about a fourth axis line.

A workpiece manufacturing apparatus includes a punch, which is provided in a lower die assembly and punches out a workpiece from an unprocessed material, and an ejector, which is provided in an upper die assembly so as to be capable of approaching and moving away from the lower die assembly. The manufacturing apparatus further includes a spring, which is provided in the upper die assembly and urges the ejector toward the lower die assembly, and a locking device, which locks the ejector with respect to the upper die assembly at a position at which the punch punches out the workpiece and releases the ejector when the die assemblies are opened. The locking device includes an actuator, which is provided in the upper die assembly and slides a slider between a locking position, at which the ejector is locked, and a releasing position, at which the ejector is released.

A hot-forming die has a heatable lower die and a heatable upper die. The lower die and the upper die have spacer elements to permit flexing. A plate stack including two plate elements is inside the hot-forming die. The plate stack is on the spacer elements in the lower die. The lower die and the upper die are displaced relative to each other when the hot-forming die is closed. The spacer elements of the upper die come into contact with the plate stack. As the closing movement continues, the spacer elements, are displaced into the lower die and the upper die, respectively, and the plate stack is clamped between the lower die and the upper die. The plate stack is then heated by the lower die and the upper die and an internal pressure is applied to an intermediate space between the plate elements by feeding in an active medium.

An actuator device includes two drive units for an actuator output element. The first drive unit has a first piston chamber and a first piston displaceable therein and also first hydraulic means for displacing the piston. The second drive unit has a second piston chamber and a second piston displaceable therein and also second hydraulic or pneumatic means for displacing the piston. The second piston is joined to the actuator output element for conjoint movement therewith and can be coupled to the first piston for thrust, so that the second piston is displaceable in an outward direction by the first piston. The first drive unit is configured for a larger thrust force than the second drive unit, while the second drive unit is designed for a greater stroke speed than the first drive unit.

An example of a blanking die includes a blanking apparatus configured to form a series of at least two metallic blanks from sheet metal, and an ejection apparatus configured to eject a first one of the series of the metallic blanks out of the blanking die in a predetermined direction and a second one of the series of the metallic blanks out of the blanking die in said predetermined direction.

An example of a blanking die includes a blanking apparatus configured to form a series of at least two metallic blanks from sheet metal, and an ejection apparatus configured to eject a first one of the series of the metallic blanks out of the blanking die in a predetermined direction and a second one of the series of the metallic blanks out of the blanking die in said predetermined direction.

A method for manufacturing a tear-off lid (27). A lid blank (9) is punched with a punching tool (1, 5) having a die (6) and a cutting punch (2, 3) to form a lid ring (8) with a central removal opening (17) surrounded by a sealing flange (18). The edge of the removal opening (17) is then formed by drawing to a collar (20) projecting from the sealing flange (18) on the intended inside of the lid (underside), the collar (20) is rolled up at its free end and a tear-off foil (24) is sealed or glued onto the sealing flange (18) on the intended outside of the lid (upper side). In accordance with the invention, the die (6) is arranged on the inner side (bottom) of the lid and the cutting punch (2, 3) is moved into the die (6) from the outer side (top) of the lid while punching out a punched pad (16) and the punched pad (16) is conveyed by compressed air through the die (6) to a conveyor (33) by means of which it is removed from the tool area. It has been shown that by this measure the known and established processes and devices for the production of tear-off lids can be modified with very little effort in such a way that during the punching of the lid blank (9) the punching or cutting pad is produced on the intended inner side (underside) of the produced lid ring (8), which is desirable when producing lids with re-verse curl.