초록 ▼

A superplastic forming apparatus is described in which a blank of superplastic material is formed onto a die located in a pressure cavity. The die, which is preferably made of ceramic material, is removable from the cavity and requires no special connections for gas or vacuums ducts and therefore is

A superplastic forming apparatus is described in which a blank of superplastic material is formed onto a die located in a pressure cavity. The die, which is preferably made of ceramic material, is removable from the cavity and requires no special connections for gas or vacuums ducts and therefore is cheap to manufacture. The use of a separate die also allows accurate monitoring and control of the pressure on the die side of the superplastic blank.

대표청구항 ▼

A method of forming an article from predominantly superplastic materials, which method comprises: (a) opening a containment vessel having a container portion and a cover portion that between them form an enclosed cavity, (b) placing into the container portion a die having an interior, an exterior an

A method of forming an article from predominantly superplastic materials, which method comprises: (a) opening a containment vessel having a container portion and a cover portion that between them form an enclosed cavity, (b) placing into the container portion a die having an interior, an exterior and a bore extending between the said interior and the said exterior, the die being so dimensioned that there is a space between the exterior of the die and the cavity wall, which space is in fluid communication via the bore with the interior of the die, (c) clamping a blank of predominantly superplastic material across the cavity between the container portion and the cover portion, (d) heating the blank to a temperature at which the material of the blank exhibits superplastic properties, and establishing a pressure differential across the blank between a first side of the blank adjacent to the said container portion and a second side adjacent to the cover portion such that there is a positive pressure on both sides of the blank to avoid cavitation in the material but the pressure on the second side is greater than that on the first side, thereby urging the blank material into the die, (e) returning the pressure within the vessel to atmospheric pressure, and (f) opening the containment vessel, separating the formed article from the die and removing the article from the containment vessel.