Patent ID: 6305202
Filing Date: 2001-10-23
Classification: B21D,Y10T

Abstract:
A method of plastically forming sheets of metal alloy into shaped parts using superplastic forming equipment including a pair of primary forming components operatively mounted upper and lower bolster plates of a press for relative movement between an open position for sheet loading and formed part unloading and a closed position for forming said sheet into a shaped part, one of said primary forming components having a forming cavity therein and a discrete forming profile extending upwardly therefrom and toward the other of said primary components, said last mentioned primary component having at least one rotatable stuffing unit projecting toward and offset from said discrete forming profile comprising the steps of mounting a sheet of metal alloy on the upper surface of said profiling member of the first component, relatively moving the components toward one another, physically engaging the sheet with the rotational component to stuff the sheet generally around the profiling die and charging one of said components with a pressurized gas to apply a force to the upper surface of the sheet to finish forming the sheet to the shape dictated by the profile of the profiling die.