Patent ID: 6457236
Filing Date: 2002-10-01
Classification: B21K,Y10T

Abstract:
An apparatus for restricting fluid flow in a pneumatic channel in a planar manifold that has a surface and one or more pneumatic channels therein, the apparatus comprising a forming pen that includes a shank and a bit at an end of the shank, wherein the bit comprises one or more side surfaces tapered inward at a tapering angle, and a tip having a size and a shape,wherein the tapering angle of the one or more side surfaces of the bit, and the size and the shape of the tip of the forming pen are configured based upon one or more of the following factors: size of the pneumatic channel to be operated upon, a position of the pneumatic channel to be operated upon relative to other pneumatic channel in the planar manifold, and a desired level of restriction of fluid flow, so that the forming pen causes the pneumatic channel to be operated upon to collapse onto itself in a controllable and predictable manner when the tip is pressed into the surface of the planar manifold.