A press forming apparatus includes a first die set and a second die set that are in positions to face each other in a press direction and perform relative movement in the press direction. The first die set includes a first support surface and a punch portion that protrudes from the first support surface. The second die set includes a press surface disposed so as to be out of position from a position to face the punch portion in the press direction, and a wall surface that is continuous with the press surface. When viewed from the second die set side in the press direction, the punch portion includes a side surface that faces the wall surface and that includes an opening opened on the wall surface side. At a forming bottom dead center of the relative movement between the first die set and the second die set in the press direction, the wall surface faces the side surface of the punch portion.

Stepwise bending in the method for manufacturing a vehicle suspension arm includes a first bending step and a second bending step. In the first bending step, preliminary bending is performed while holding a portion that composes a base portion of a body portion and a portion that composes first coupling portions in a workpiece W by a punch (first punch). In the second bending step, while holding of the portion that composes the first coupling portions by the first punch is released subsequently to the first bending step, bending is performed along a fold given by the first bending step while holding the portion that composes the base portion of the body portion by a punch (second punch).

A method for producing open-seam pipes from flat metal products, in particular sheet metal, includes a plurality of individual bending steps using at least one bending tool and at least one externally located lower tool. A plurality of positions of individual bending steps and the insertion depth of the bending tool are calculated in advance. Based thereon the flat metal product is then shaped step-by-step to form the open-seam pipe. After each of the bending steps, a target/actual comparison of the distance between two edges and/or between one of the two edges and the axial center line of the flat metal product is carried out. In case of a deviation, a correction value for the subsequent bending step is determined using a correction algorithm so as then to adapt the insertion depth for the bending tool.

A pipe body forming apparatus includes: a core restricted in rotation about an axis; an abutment body that interposes a center portion of a workpiece between the core and the abutment body; a first pressure member and a second pressure member that are allowed to be pressed against the core from both sides in a horizontal direction with the workpiece interposed between the core and each of the first pressure member and the second pressure member; and a correcting body allowed to be pressed against the core from an opposite side to the abutment body with both edge portions of the workpiece interposed between the core and the correcting body. By pressing the workpiece from four directions perpendicular to each other with respect to the core, the workpiece is formed into a pipe body having an inner dimension matching an outer dimension of the core.