Patent ID: 7788958

Claim:
An apparatus comprising: a roll former defining a downstream direction and including rollers configured to form a sheet of metal material into a continuous structural beam having a shaped cross section including at least opposing vertical side walls, a bottom wall, and flanges; and a downstream former positioned in-line and downstream of the roll former, including a die-supporting sled reciprocatingly movable a distance along with the beam, and including on the sled a bottom die supporting a bottom of the beam, opposing side dies slidably supported on the sled and movable in a lateral horizontal direction perpendicular to the downstream direction and reciprocatingly movable inwardly toward the beam to temporarily support sides of the beam, and at least one top die movable vertically against a top of the side dies with the flanges of the beam located therebetween when the side dies are in an inward position, such that the at least one top die is reciprocatingly movable downwardly to engage and reform at least one of the walls and the flanges against at least the side dies.