Caterpillar Inc.

Richard R Kazmierzak

Maurice L Caudill

Joel C Schweisberger

Paul D Andreson

Dennis L Blunier

Phillip J Shankwitz

Richard E Couch

Kevin M Jacobs

A zone heating device has first and second spaced burners for heating first and second spaced sides of a metal plate during forming of a thickened edge along the edge of the metal plate. The first and second burners are elevationally movable by an actuator between first and second spaced transverse positions relative to the sides of the metal plate. An actuator moves the zone heating device along a trackway in directions transverse the plate edge. A fixed guide under the bias of the actuator engages the edge of the metal plate and maintains the first and second burners at a predetermined location relative to the plate edge. A movable guide maintains the first and second burners at another preselected location relative to the plate edge. A control device controls movement of the first and second burners, the zone heating device, and the movable guide in response to preprogrammed instructions. The zone heating device is particularly suited for use on a forming apparatus.

Zone heating apparatus

In conventional fabrication manufacture the thickness of the steel plates are often determined by the metal section required at the weld joints. The subject apparatus and method overcomes this problem by selectively forming a thickened edge along the edge of a thinner steel plate which can now be limited to the thickness required to withstand the stresses on the fabrication. The thickened edge is produced by passing a plate supported on a table through a forming apparatus having a forming roller. The table is movable in an oblique direction relative to the plate so that the shape of the thickened edge may be varied. The forming apparatus and table are automatically controlled to produce a thickened edge of a desired shape intermittently or continuously along a linear or non-linear edge of the plate.

Apparatus and method for selectively forming a thickened edge on a plate

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South Bend, IN, United States of America

Richard R Kazmierzak