The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jan. 11, 1994
Filed:
May. 08, 1992
Murray W Mahoney, Camarillo, CA (US);
Clifford C Bampton, Thousand Oaks, CA (US);
Rockwell International Corp., Seal Beach, CA (US);
Abstract
A method and apparatus for effecting superplastic forming of metal workpieces at temperatures greater than 1000.degree. C., wherein both oxidation and creep deformation of the tooling are minimized. The process is achieved by heating forming surfaces of ceramic forming dies to temperatures in excess of 1000.degree. C., and using metal housings to impart high loading conditions to seal the workpiece within a chamber for superplastic forming. More specifically, the metal housings are used not only for load bearing purposes, but also for creating an evacuated chamber within which superplastic forming can take place. The ceramic dies, on the other hand, are positioned on opposing sides of the workpiece region to be superplastically formed, and are insulated from, while being contained within, the metallic dies. Once the region of the workpieces to be superplastically formed has attained the desired temperature, expansion gases are introduced into the workpieces region via appropriate means to facilitate superplastic expansion of the workpiece within the chamber formed between the metallic housings.