Wave roll die assembly

Abstract

A wave rolling assembly and a process for manufacturing a component for a vehicle using the wave rolling assembly is provided. The process includes conveying a metal coil through a first leveler to present a metal sheet, and conveying the metal sheet through a looping pit. The metal sheet travels from the looping pit to the wave rolling assembly for forming a plurality of waves along the side edges of the metal sheet. The wave rolling assembly stretches the metal sheet. The wave rolling assembly can include a die assembly or a roll forming apparatus. The metal sheet is then conveyed through a second leveler to flatten the metal sheet. The metal sheet is cut into blanks and formed into the finished component in a blanking press and die assembly. Less scrap is generated due to the reduced thickness along the edges and overall increased width of the blanks.

1 . A system for manufacturing a metal component, comprising:
 a wave forming assembly for forming a plurality of waves in a metal sheet,   the wave forming assembly including a plurality of wave roll inserts or rollers spaced from one another for applying pressure to the metal sheet and forming the waves in the metal sheet,   a leveler for flattening the waves formed by the wave forming assembly, and   a press and die assembly for receiving the metal sheet after the leveler flattens the waves and forming the metal sheet.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the leveler is a second leveler, and further including a first leveler for applying pressure to a coil of metal and forming the coil into the metal sheet before the metal sheet enters the wave forming assembly. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 2  including a looping pit for receiving the metal sheet from the first leveler before the metal sheet travels to the wave forming assembly. rollers. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the leveler includes a plurality of 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the wave forming assembly is a die assembly including a lower lock bead subplate and a pair of cassettes for receiving the metal sheet therebetween, the cassettes are movable vertically for pressing the metal sheet and forming the waves in the metal sheet, the cassettes are removable and replaceable, each cassette includes a locking bead forming pad movable vertically and independent from the remainder of the cassette for pressing the metal sheet into the lower lock bead subplate and forming a first wave in the metal sheet, each cassette includes an upper wave roll insert adjacent the locking bead forming pad, and each cassette includes a lower wave roll insert adjacent the lower lock bead subplate for forming second and third waves therebetween. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the wave forming assembly includes a roll forming apparatus, the roll forming apparatus including a plurality of rollers for forming the waves in the metal sheet. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6  including a plurality of upper rows of the rollers and a plurality of the lower rows of the rollers. sheet, 
     
     
         8 . A wave rolling assembly, comprising:
 a lower lock bead subplate and a pair of cassettes for receiving a metal sheet therebetween,   the pair of cassettes being movable vertically for pressing and forming waves in the metal sheet,   the pair of cassettes being removable and replaceable,   each cassette including a locking bead forming pad movable vertically and independent from the remainder of the cassette for pressing the metal sheet into the lower lock bead subplate and forming a first wave in the metal sheet, and   each cassette including an upper wave roll insert adjacent the locking bead forming pad and a lower wave roll insert adjacent the lower lock bead subplate for forming second and third waves therebetween.   
     
     
         9 . A method of manufacturing a component, comprising the steps of:
 forming a plurality of waves in a metal sheet,   flattening the waves formed in the metal sheet, and   forming the metal sheet in a pressure and die assembly after flattening the waves.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the steps of forming the waves and flattening the waves stretch the metal sheet in a width direction traverse to a direction of travel of the metal sheet. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the width of the metal sheet is increased by 18% to 22% during the steps of forming the waves and/or flattening the waves. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of forming the waves in the metal sheet includes applying 90 to 110 metric tons to the metal sheet. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of forming the waves includes forming the waves adjacent opposite edges of the metal sheet, the edges being spaced from one another by a portion of the metal sheet which does not include the waves, and the edges running parallel to a direction of travel of the metal sheet. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 9  including flattening a coil of metal to form the coil into the metal sheet before forming the waves in the metal sheet. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of forming the metal sheet includes forming the metal sheet into the shape of a body panel, door, roof, hood, or other component for a vehicle. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of forming the waves in the metal sheet is conducted by a wave forming assembly, the wave forming assembly including a plurality of wave roll inserts or rollers spaced from one another for applying pressure to the metal sheet and forming the waves in the metal sheet. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of forming the waves in the metal sheet is conducted by a wave forming assembly, the wave forming assembly is a die assembly including a lower lock bead subplate and a pair of cassettes for receiving the metal sheet therebetween, the cassettes are movable vertically for pressing the metal sheet and forming the waves in the metal sheet, the cassettes are removable and replaceable, each cassette includes a locking bead forming pad movable vertically and independent from the remainder of the cassette for pressing the metal sheet into the lower lock bead subplate and forming a first wave in the metal sheet, each cassette includes an upper wave roll insert adjacent the locking bead forming pad, and each cassette includes a lower wave roll insert adjacent the lower lock bead subplate for forming second and third waves therebetween. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of flattening the waves formed in the metal sheet is conducted by a leveler, the leveler is a second leveler, and further including a first leveler for applying pressure to a coil of metal and forming the coil into the metal sheet before the metal sheet enters a wave forming assembly. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18  including a looping pit for receiving the metal sheet from the first leveler before the metal sheet travels to the wave forming assembly. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the step of flattening the waves formed in the metal sheet is conducted by a leveler, and the leveler includes a plurality of rollers.