Patent ID: 8561448

Claim:
An apparatus for in-line manufacturing of sheet metal duct portions from a metal sheet, comprising: means for notching the metal sheet to define a duct blank body having a pair of opposed lateral edges and having a plurality of opposed notches indented at predetermined intervals into the opposed lateral edges; and a forming apparatus for bending said duct blank body at said plurality of opposed notches so as to form a duct having dimensions defined by said predetermined intervals, and having male and female portions, the female portion including a Z-bend having a leg part, the forming apparatus including a bed assembly, a clamp beam vertically movable relative to the bed assembly, and a wiper pivotally and vertically movable relative to the bed assembly and the clamp beam, the wiper including a clench tool mechanism for clenching said female portion around said male portion so as to close said duct, the means for notching and the forming apparatus being disposed in-line to define an apparatus mid-line; and wherein said clench tool mechanism further includes a retractable rib pivotally movable from a position housed within said wiper to a position protruding above an upper working surface of said wiper, said retractable rib being moved into locking engagement with said Z-bend when said male portion is inserted into said Z-bend.