PURPOSE: To form a braided product having a complicated structure and improve the strength of its joint part, bent part, etc., by suitably passing from a robot hand device to the other for holding a mandrel.

CONSTITUTION: Robot hand devices R having mandrel-holding devices S at their tips, respectively, are laterally disposed through the main body of a braider, and a braiding operation is started from one end of, e.g. a T type mandrel (m) held and subjected to a posture control with the mandrel-holding device S of one of the robot hand devices R. After the braiding operation is performed to the branched part of the mandrel (m), the operation of the robot hand device R is controlled to clockwise rotate the mandrel at 90° on the joint point of the branched part, and the braiding operation is performed to the branched part. The other end of the mandrel (m) is subsequently held with the other robot hand device R, and the holding of one robot hand device R is released. The mandrel (m) is rotated at 180° on the branched part, and the braiding operation is performed at the branched part. In such the way, both the robot hand devices R are suitably exchanged for each other to hold the mandrel (m), and the braiding operations are performed, thus forming a braided product having a complicated two-dimensional or three-dimensional structure.