Rockwell International Corporation

Paul R Puhaczewski

C Howard Hamilton

Charles Howard Hamilton

A method of removing a formed part from a die, said part produced by clamping a preform between first and second dies, bringing said preform to within an elevated temperature range suitable for superplastic forming of said preform, and applying pressure to said preform to superplastically form at least a portion of said preform into a cavity of said first die, comprising the steps of:

Method of removing formed parts from a die

A method is disclosed for removing a part from a die, the part having been produced by clamping a preform between first and second dies and forming at least a portion of the preform into a cavity of the first die. The method comprises the steps of drawing a vacuum from between at least a portion of the formed preform and the second die and separating the second die from the first die such that the part is withdrawn from the cavity of the first die. In a preferred embodiment, wherein the part is clamped abouts its periphery, the method involves the additional steps of providing a channel about at least a portion of the second die aligned with and in communication with the periphery of the preform, and providing sealing members to seal off the channel. The vacuum is then drawn from the channel.

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Torrance, CA, United States of America

Paul R Puhaczewski