A sag-assist articulated tooling apparatus is described for complex, non-developable thin glass bending. The tooling apparatus employs a double-axis articulation design which introduces controllable external force in addition to glass gravity itself. The tooling apparatus described an articulated section along the primary bending direction and an articulated section along the cross bending direction. Each articulated section may include a hinge tower, counterweight, swing stopper, and counterweight stopper.

A glass sheet used in the making of an aircraft windshield is shaped using the cut-to-size method instead of the out-after-bend method. In a preferred aspect of the invention the cut-to-size method is practiced using a bending iron having a sheet shaping rail having a stationary shaping rail portion mounted on a support member and an articulating shaping rail portion pivotally mounted on the support member for movement from a non-shaping position to a shaping position.

A glass sheet used in the making of an aircraft windshield is shaped using the cut-to-size method instead of the out-after-bend method. In a preferred aspect of the invention the cut-to-size method is practiced using a bending iron having a sheet shaping rail having a stationary shaping rail portion mounted on a support member and an articulating shaping rail portion pivotally mounted on the support member for movement from a non-shaping position to a shaping position.

A local bend is formed in a glass sheet (10) by supporting large flat areas (14, 16) of the glass sheet (10) on large flat supports (106L, 106R) that are articulated relative to each other while leaving an area (12) of the glass sheet in which the local bend is to be formed unsupported. A combination of bending forces applied to the glass sheet (10) by articulation of the large flat supports (106L, 106R) and local heating (110) of the unsupported area (12) of the glass sheet (10) produces the local bend.

A local bend is formed in a glass sheet (10) by supporting large flat areas (14, 16) of the glass sheet (10) on large flat supports (106L, 106R) that are articulated relative to each other while leaving an area (12) of the glass sheet in which the local bend is to be formed unsupported. A combination of bending forces applied to the glass sheet (10) by articulation of the large flat supports (106L, 106R) and local heating (110) of the unsupported area (12) of the glass sheet (10) produces the local bend.

A mold has a sealing surface bearing a sealing profile. A plenum has a sealing surface bearing a sealing profile. The mold and plenum together form an apparatus for reforming a sheet material. In the closed position of the apparatus, the sealing profile of the mold is in opposing relation to the sealing profile of the plenum and the sealing profiles of the mold and plenum together define a profiled sealing gap. When the sheet material is wedged into the profiled sealing gap, a direct seal will be formed between the sheet material and each of the mold and plenum, resulting in two forming areas within the apparatus.

A bending mold capable of thermally bending an automotive windscreen comprises a fixed frame and two movable frames. A curvature adjusting apparatus is additionally provided corresponding to the bottom of each movable frame. Each curvature adjusting apparatus comprises two sidings, two hooks and an adjusting lever. The adjusting lever is in parallel to the connection line of two hinge connection points of the movable frame and the fixed frame on the same side, and the tops of the two hooks are respectively hanged on two corresponding sidings at adjustable positions. The process of thermally bending automotive glass can be accomplished with the bending mold, and does not require installing an anti-gravity mechanism. It has the advantages of simple mold structure design, less amount of materials and so on.

A bending mold capable of thermally bending an automotive windscreen comprises a fixed frame and two movable frames. A curvature adjusting apparatus is additionally provided corresponding to the bottom of each movable frame. Each curvature adjusting apparatus comprises two sidings, two hooks and an adjusting lever. The adjusting lever is in parallel to the connection line of two hinge connection points of the movable frame and the fixed frame on the same side, and the tops of the two hooks are respectively hanged on two corresponding sidings at adjustable positions. The process of thermally bending automotive glass can be accomplished with the bending mold, and does not require installing an anti-gravity mechanism. It has the advantages of simple mold structure design, less amount of materials and so on.

A bending mold capable of thermally bending an automotive windscreen comprises a fixed frame and two movable frames. A curvature adjusting apparatus is additionally provided corresponding to the bottom of each movable frame. Each curvature adjusting apparatus comprises two sidings, two hooks and an adjusting lever. The adjusting lever is in parallel to the connection line of two hinge connection points of the movable frame and the fixed frame on the same side, and the tops of the two hooks are respectively hanged on two corresponding sidings at adjustable positions. The process of thermally bending automotive glass can be accomplished with the bending mold, and does not require installing an anti-gravity mechanism. It has the advantages of simple mold structure design, less amount of materials and so on.

A bending mold capable of thermally bending an automotive windscreen comprises a fixed frame and two movable frames. A curvature adjusting apparatus is additionally provided corresponding to the bottom of each movable frame. Each curvature adjusting apparatus comprises two sidings, two hooks and an adjusting lever. The adjusting lever is in parallel to the connection line of two hinge connection points of the movable frame and the fixed frame on the same side, and the tops of the two hooks are respectively hanged on two corresponding sidings at adjustable positions. The process of thermally bending automotive glass can be accomplished with the bending mold, and does not require installing an anti-gravity mechanism. It has the advantages of simple mold structure design, less amount of materials and so on.