A system (20) and method for hemming a vehicle body closure (32) includes
a corner joining station (24) where formed sheet metal outer and inner
members (36, 38) are initially joined to each other at their corners, a
hemming station (26) where roll prehemming and roll final hemming of the
peripheries of the outer and inner members is performed by roll robot
hemming apparatus (68), and a delivery station (28) to which the hemmed
closure (32) is delivered. At the hemming station (26), a plurality of
fixtures (82) of different constructions selectively receive the
particular closure member being processed during each cycle so as to have
manufacturing flexibility. The fixtures (82) are located between a floor
mounted conveyor (74) of robot transfer apparatus (30) and a floor
mounted conveyor (84) of roll hemming robot apparatus (68) so that there
is no interference between the transfer and hemming manipulations.