Method for producing annular parts and use of said method

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for working a strip continuously supplied from a coil, using the same equipment for roll bending, cutting and welding in a single combined machine, such that an end product of the required quality is efficiently produced.

1 . A method for processing thin steel strip, which is preferably but not exclusively continuously fed from a coil and which has a thickness in the range of preferably 0.4 mm to 1 mm, into workpieces, particularly for roll-bending substantially flat, sheet-shaped starting material into substantially tubular or annular objects such as drums or other preferably cylindrical objects or the like, the processing process being influenced and monitored by at least one operator from at least one operating station onward and the workpiece being continuously conveyed from a coil by means of an electronic control unit, being first fed to a straightening tool and then being processed further in a combined machine in at least three further process steps, a rolling process being applied to the workpiece in a first processing step, in that the workpiece is fixed by a retaining device under the application of force and continuously conveyed by means of a rotatable rolling tool until the full peripheral length has been reached, after a straight welding edge has been created by cutting off the coil starting piece, which is deposited in the at least one scrap bin, and a cutting process being applied to the workpiece in a second processing step, whereby two straight welding edges are produced at the interface, and a welding process being applied to the workpiece in a third processing step, a first welding edge and a second welding edge being welded to each other in such a way that an annular part having a weld seam is produced, and the annular part being ejected from the combined machine by means of a removal mechanism or being manually removed, characterized in that the three steps for processing the workpiece, the cutting in the cutting machine and the rolling in the rolling machine and the welding in the welding machine, are performed by means of the same equipment in a combined machine. 
     
     
         2 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the cutting and the welding in the combined machine occur preferably by means of a laser method or by means of a plasma method. 
     
     
         3 . The method according to  claims 1 , characterized in that the welding head and the cutting head are arranged on the same gantry on a carrier, wherein the welding head and the cutting head each can be moved in a horizontal direction and a vertical direction. 
     
     
         4 . The method according to  claim 3 , characterized in that the cutting and the welding occur by means of a combined head. 
     
     
         5 . The method according to  claim 1  characterized in that, at least if a laser method is used, the welding head and the cutting head use one and the same source, preferably but not exclusively a laser source. 
     
     
         6 . The method according to  claim 1  characterized in that the welding occurs with or without a feed of filler material. 
     
     
         7 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the coil starting piece of the coil, which is obtained when the cutting is performed for the first time, is deposited in a first scrap bin and the coil end piece of the coil, which is obtained when the cutting is performed for the last time, is deposited in a second scrap bin. 
     
     
         8 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the welding edges have, for example but not exclusively, a saw-tooth shape or wave shape. 
     
     
         9 . The method according to  claim 1 , characterized in that the sheet-shaped starting material is not continuously unrolled from a coil, but rather is cut into plates after a preceding cutting process and is fed in the form of pre-cut plates to the further processing by means of an individual sheet feed. 
     
     
         10 . A use of the method according to  claim 1 , for producing drums for a washing machine or a dishwasher or the like.