PURPOSE: To execute sheet metal working of a high degree of freedom by scanning and irradiating the surface of a sheet metal with a laser beam to heat the sheet metal and successively bending the sheet metal and to enable cutting, welding, heat treating, etc., with one unit of sheet metal working machine.

CONSTITUTION: The sheet metal 2 to be worked is irradiated with the laser beam L2 on a straight line and is thereby heated. A work fixing device 11 fixes one end of the sheet metal 2 and the other end is gripped by a fixing device at the front end of a robot 9. The sheet metal is then subjected to bending. The sheet metal 2 and the fixing devices 10, 11 are placed on a table 1 and the table 1 is moved in X, Y directions by servo motors 6, 7. The sheet metal is subjected to the bending by successively shifting the heating position, by which the prescribed working is completed. The need for many kinds of metallic molds to be exclusively used is eliminated and the bending and drawing of the sheet metal 2 are substd. with the sheet metal working method based on a simple principle.