Disclosed is an insulated container 2 for cooling a heated tooling component 4. The insulated container 2 comprises: a housing including a thermally insulated base 6, an insulated side wall 10 and an insulated upper wall 12 which define a chamber 36 for receiving the tooling component 4; an inlet port 30 passing through the insulated base 6, the inlet port 30 allowing ambient air to enter the chamber 36; and a vent 18 passing through the insulated upper wall 12, the vent 18 allowing air heated by the heated tooling component 4 to be ejected such that a convective air flow through the chamber 36 cools the tooling component 4, wherein a flow area of the vent 18 can be varied to allow an air flow rate through the chamber 36 to be controlled. There is also disclosed a method of cooling a heated tooling component 4.

A method for controlling a superplastic forming machine for imprinting a shape on a sheet, the machine comprising: a cover; a vat; a press and a peripheral seal for gripping the sheet at its periphery and sealing a pressurized forming chamber delimited by the sheet; members for heating the sheet directly by radiation, these being arranged facing the sheet; a programmable controller. The method involves: determining an initial heating configuration; a finite-element simulation relating to the temperature of the sheet and performed in such a way as to have a temperature that is substantially consistent across the sheet and substantially constant during the course of the forming, in order to obtain a forming specification comprising at least a cycle of powering the heating members and a cycle of pressure in the forming chamber; programming the programmable controller according to the forming specification yielded by the previous simulation.

A method for controlling a superplastic forming machine for imprinting a shape on a sheet, the machine comprising: a cover; a vat; a press and a peripheral seal for gripping the sheet at its periphery and sealing a pressurized forming chamber delimited by the sheet; members for heating the sheet directly by radiation, these being arranged facing the sheet; a programmable controller. The method involves: determining an initial heating configuration; a finite-element simulation relating to the temperature of the sheet and performed in such a way as to have a temperature that is substantially consistent across the sheet and substantially constant during the course of the forming, in order to obtain a forming specification comprising at least a cycle of powering the heating members and a cycle of pressure in the forming chamber; programming the programmable controller according to the forming specification yielded by the previous simulation.

An aerofoil structure with a hollow cavity is manufactured by diffusion bonding and superplastic forming. Outer panels are formed of a first material; a membrane is formed of a second material. Stop-off material is applied to preselected areas on at least one side of the membrane or of one of the panels so as to prevent diffusion bonding between the panels and the membrane at the preselected areas. The panels and the membrane are arranged in a stack and a diffusion bonding process is performed to bond together the first and second panels and the membrane to form an assembly. A superplastic forming process is performed at a forming temperature to expand the assembly to form the aerofoil structure. The forming temperature is selected so that the second material undergoes superplastic deformation at the forming temperature and the first material does not undergo superplastic deformation at the forming temperature.

A radial compression mechanism includes a plurality of die, each of the plurality of die have a wedge shaped tip. The dies are arranged around a common central axis so that the wedge shaped tips form an elongated central cavity and move between an expanded position and a contracted position. Each die includes a fluid duct extending lengthwise through the die proximate the wedge-shaped tip. Each fluid duct includes an inlet fluid port and an outlet fluid port. The fluid ducts are connected in parallel by a fluid supply manifold connected to each inlet fluid port of each die by an inlet conduit, and a fluid return manifold connected to each outlet fluid port of each die by an outlet conduit.

A radial compression mechanism includes a plurality of die, each of the plurality of die have a wedge shaped tip. The dies are arranged around a common central axis so that the wedge shaped tips form an elongated central cavity and move between an expanded position and a contracted position. Each die includes a fluid duct extending lengthwise through the die proximate the wedge-shaped tip. Each fluid duct includes an inlet fluid port and an outlet fluid port. The fluid ducts are connected in parallel by a fluid supply manifold connected to each inlet fluid port of each die by an inlet conduit, and a fluid return manifold connected to each outlet fluid port of each die by an outlet conduit.

A multi-warm forming device and the forming method are disclosed. A multi-warm forming device according to one or a plurality of exemplary embodiments of the present invention may include: a lower mold die that is disposed on a bolster for a process and in which a mold mounting portion having at least one space portion is formed at a center thereof; a lower mold that is disposed at an upper surface of a mold mounting portion of the lower mold die, in which a plurality of gas supply passages formed therein in a vertical direction are connected to a gas supply device of an outside through a gas supply line, and a lower forming surface is formed at an upper surface thereof; an upper mold that is mounted on a slider of an upper portion to be able to be moved up and down corresponding to the lower mold at an upper portion of the lower mold die, in which an upper forming surface is formed at a lower surface corresponding to the lower mold, an upper mold face surface is formed at a circumference of the upper forming surface, and a plurality of heating cartridges are mounted inside along the upper forming surface and the upper mold face surface; and a blank holder of which the mold mounting portion is inserted into a penetration hole that is formed corresponding to the mold mounting portion, is able to be moved in a vertical direction by a guide post and a cushion spring that are mounted within the lower mold die, and in which a plurality of heating cartridges are mounted along a holder face surface that restrains a material together with the upper mold face surface at an early stage of a forming process.

A multi-warm forming device and the forming method are disclosed. A multi-warm forming device according to one or a plurality of exemplary embodiments of the present invention may include: a lower mold die that is disposed on a bolster for a process and in which a mold mounting portion having at least one space portion is formed at a center thereof; a lower mold that is disposed at an upper surface of a mold mounting portion of the lower mold die, in which a plurality of gas supply passages formed therein in a vertical direction are connected to a gas supply device of an outside through a gas supply line, and a lower forming surface is formed at an upper surface thereof; an upper mold that is mounted on a slider of an upper portion to be able to be moved up and down corresponding to the lower mold at an upper portion of the lower mold die, in which an upper forming surface is formed at a lower surface corresponding to the lower mold, an upper mold face surface is formed at a circumference of the upper forming surface, and a plurality of heating cartridges are mounted inside along the upper forming surface and the upper mold face surface; and a blank holder of which the mold mounting portion is inserted into a penetration hole that is formed corresponding to the mold mounting portion, is able to be moved in a vertical direction by a guide post and a cushion spring that are mounted within the lower mold die, and in which a plurality of heating cartridges are mounted along a holder face surface that restrains a material together with the upper mold face surface at an early stage of a forming process.

A multi-forming device is disclosed. A multi-forming device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include: a lower mold die; a lower mold that is disposed at a center upper surface of the lower mold die, in which a gas passage is formed in an up-and-down direction to receive a shaping gas from an outside gas supplier device, in which a lower mold surface is formed at an upper surface thereof, and in which a plurality of heating cartridges are disposed therein along the lower surface thereof; an upper mold that is disposed on an upper side slider to be moved in an up-and-down direction corresponding to the lower mold, in which an upper mold surface is formed at a lower surface corresponding to the lower mold, in which an upper mold face is formed at a circumference of the upper mold surface, and in which a plurality of heating cartridges are disposed along the upper mold surface; a blank holder through which the lower mold is inserted and that is disposed to move in an up-and-down direction through a cushion spring on the lower mold die, and in which a holder face is formed to grasp a material together with the upper mold face at an early stage of a forming process; an inner gas pipe that is disposed in a gas passage of the lower mold; and a switch valve that switches supply passages of the shaping gas that is supplied to the inner gas pipe and the gas passage.

A multi-forming device is disclosed. A multi-forming device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention may include: a lower mold die; a lower mold that is disposed at a center upper surface of the lower mold die, in which a gas passage is formed in an up-and-down direction to receive a shaping gas from an outside gas supplier device, in which a lower mold surface is formed at an upper surface thereof, and in which a plurality of heating cartridges are disposed therein along the lower surface thereof; an upper mold that is disposed on an upper side slider to be moved in an up-and-down direction corresponding to the lower mold, in which an upper mold surface is formed at a lower surface corresponding to the lower mold, in which an upper mold face is formed at a circumference of the upper mold surface, and in which a plurality of heating cartridges are disposed along the upper mold surface; a blank holder through which the lower mold is inserted and that is disposed to move in an up-and-down direction through a cushion spring on the lower mold die, and in which a holder face is formed to grasp a material together with the upper mold face at an early stage of a forming process; an inner gas pipe that is disposed in a gas passage of the lower mold; and a switch valve that switches supply passages of the shaping gas that is supplied to the inner gas pipe and the gas passage.