Page 10 - MetalForming-Aug-2018-issue

Tech Update
High-Pressure Warm Forming of Titanium
processes, where tem- peratures sur- pass 1300 F, require an oxy- gen-free process atmosphere and
A new process from Quintus
Technologies, high-pressure warm
forming (HPWF), combines high
pressure with a moderately ele-
vated temperature and promises
more rapid, cost-effective and
precise forming of titanium parts.
HPWF, according to Quintus offi-
cials, paves the way for more
widespread adoption of Ti-6Al-
4V, a titanium alloy prized in manufacturing for its high strength, light weight, formability, and high corrosion resistance.
entail several steps. HPWF significantly improves on these methods, claim company officials, by introducing an induction-heating system to warm the blank-and-tool package to approximately 520 F—well below temperatures requiring a protective gas—just before entering a Quintus Flexform press. The press applies uniform high pressure (20,000 psi) to a flexible rubber diaphragm in conjunction with only a single rigid tool half to form complex sheetmetal parts to final shape. A complete HPWF cycle, from heating and loading to forming and unloading, reportedly takes less than 5 min., and forming at relatively low temperatures enables quick cooling. Overall, efficiencies
For example, “In the aviation industry alone, market projections call for close to 35,000 new passenger and freighter aircraft to be built over the next two decades,” says Sture Olsson, the company’s global business development manager for sheetmetal forming, noting that these new models will consume less fuel and comprise a lighter environmental footprint. “The lightweight properties of Ti-6Al-4V are integral to a fuel- efficient design strategy.”
HPWF reportedly removes barriers to fabrication that previously limited the use of Ti-6Al-4V to specialty applications due to the high cost of current forming methods. The scrap rate for conventional milling can approach 70 percent, and hot-forming
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8 MetalForming/August 2018
www.metalformingmagazine.com