The present invention relates to methods of working sheet metal, and sheet metal working apparatus for performing such methods. Such methods include steps of providing a sheet metal workpiece having first and second surfaces opposed to each other and at least one edge, bending the workpiece to form at least a first sidewall portion defined between the edge and a basal region, the first sidewall portion thereby defining a curved fold region in the sheet metal workpiece adjacent the first sidewall portion. Following this, first anvil tool and a first forming tool are provided for contact with and constraint of the first and second surfaces of the sheet metal workpiece respectively. The forming tool and/or the anvil tool are then progressively slid along the curved fold region to cause shear material transfer in the curved fold region to further deform the curved fold region. Such methods can allow for formation of components of similar shape as made at present by deep drawing methods, but with less wastage of the starting material.

A panel hemming device includes: a fixing die on which a panel is placed and having a supporting surface stepped upward to be parallel with an end of the panel; a hemming shaft having a first side coupled to a tool and having a second side to which a hemming roller, which contacts a top of the supporting surface when fixed to the fixing die, is coupled; a rotary shaft having a first side coupled to the first side of the hemming shaft to receive torque and having a second side, which contacts a bottom of the fixing die when fixed to the fixing die; and a case supporting an outer surface of the hemming shaft disposed through the case and coupled to a first end of the rotary shaft such that the rotary shaft can rotate upward or downward with respect to the first end.

A vehicle panel roller hemming device includes roller hem equipment including: a positioning mechanism configured to position an outer panel on a hemming die by a locator; and a suction and fixing mechanism configured to suck and fix a lower face of the outer panel by a vacuum pad. The suction and fixing mechanism includes a pad base part; a skirt part continuously rising with a predetermined thickness from an edge of the pad base part and including an opening on an end edge thereof; a decompression space formed by an inner wall of the pad base part and an inner wall of the skirt part; and a suction through pipe penetrating the pad base part and communicating with the decompression space, and configured to suck air inside the decompression space.

An arrangement for connecting different parts includes two vehicle components. The vehicle body components include a first vehicle body component taking the form of a sheet metal component with a joining flange and being connected at this joining flange to the second vehicle body component via a welded connection. The joining flange on the first vehicle body component has a turned-over rim and is thereby formed with a doubled sheet metal thickness.

A sheet metal bending machine includes a sheet metal presser defining a first support surface supporting a first sheet metal portion, a bending punch movable with respect to the first support surface between a passive position, in which it is raised with respect to the first support surface, and an active position, in which it is pressed against the first support surface to lock the first sheet metal portion on the sheet metal presser with a punch edge, and a bending die defining a second support surface. The presser and the die are movable with respect to one another substantially in parallel with a direction transverse to the first and second bending edges to switch from the partial to a complete sheet metal bending configuration, in which the distance is reduced to press partially curved section towards said punch edge, thereby deforming it further and increasing the curvature of sheet.

A hemming device includes an anvil for placing a work, a presser material handling portion, a conveyance robot, and a roller hemming robot. The anvil includes an anvil main body portion, a positioning device, a gripping device, and a device-side ATC device to be attached to and detached from a conveyance-robot side ATC device. The presser material handling portion includes a frame portion having a shape corresponding to a shape of the work, a positioning device, a gripping device, a presser provided to press the inner panel at a position at which the presser does not interfere with a final shape, and a device-side ATC device to be attached to and detached from the conveyance-robot side ATC device. With this configuration, processing time is reduced and replacement operation of the anvil is simplified, and therefore productivity is improved.

A roller hemming processing device that has first to fifth processing surfaces and that rolls the respective processing surfaces while pressing the respective processing surfaces against a hemming flange in such a posture that an axis of a roller is parallel to an outer panel is used. A pre-processed portion obtained by bending the hemming flange to form a right angle with an inner flange is molded by using the third, fifth and fourth processing surfaces in a stepwise manner such that the angle of inclination with respect to the axis decreases. The pre-processed portion is inclined toward an inner panel side by using the second processing surface. An inclined wall portion that is inclined to contact the inner panel, and a hem portion that is in close contact with the inner panel are molded by simultaneously using the first and second processing surfaces.

A die includes a plastic positioning body configured to position a door outer panel to be set in a predetermined posture by being abutted along an edge of an edge of the door outer panel. This positioning body includes a metal inset (or metal inserts) having a higher surface hardness than the plastic at application portion (or portions) where force is applied from areas when these areas, in which deformation resistance at the door outer panel is locally increased, are bent back. The metal insert is in a half-embedded state in which one part of the metal insert(s) is exposed from a surface of the application portion while the remaining part is embedded inside the application portion.

A gas-charging and flanging machine (10) includes a sealed chamber (13a). The gas-charging and flanging machine is used for carrying out, inside the sealed chamber, charging of a gas into a workpiece (20) and flanging of the workpiece (20) by spinning and pressing. The gas-charging and flanging machine charges a gas into a workpiece and flanges the workpiece on the same machine such that production efficiency can be improved.

A panel hemming device includes: a fixing die on which a panel is placed and that has a supporting surface stepped upward to be parallel with an end of the panel; a hemming shaft having a first side coupled to a tool and having a second side to which a hemming roller, which comes in contact with a top of the supporting surface when fixed to the fixing die, is coupled; a rotary shaft having a first side coupled to the first side of the hemming shaft to receive torque and having a second side coming in contact with a bottom of the fixing die when fixed to the fixing die; and a case supporting an outer surface of the hemming shaft disposed through the case and coupled to a first end of the rotary shaft such that the rotary shaft can rotate upward or downward with respect to the first end.