Patent ID: 8028558

Claim:
A method of forming large thin parts, comprising the steps of providing a flat billet of metal having thickness, length and width, placing the billet into a sculptured die of corresponding length and width, preheating the billet and the sculptured die, transferring the preheated die and billet under a forging die having a shorter length than the sculptured die, providing the forging die with inclined and flat surfaces which form a convergent working zone with a contact area length between the billet and dies, selecting a sufficiently large ratio of the contact area length to the billet thickness that prevents the metal flow into directions of billet length and width and provides the metal flow into the sculptured die, performing a predetermined stroke of the forging die into a direction of the sculptured die, retreating the forging die to an original position, feeding the sculptured die and the billet into the working zone on a predetermined distance.