Process	Superplastic forming
	This is an alternative to conventional drawing of sheet metal when free form geometry is desired. Tooling costs are much less but processing times larger (hours) and it is therefore used for small batches e.g. sportscar body parts. Only the female part of the die is needed. The metal plate is fixed to the die, heated and moderate air pressure is added. Slowly over a couple of hours the plate will be pressed into the die by the air pressure. Only special types suplerplastic metals (aluminium, titanium and stainless steel) can be used. Improved properties can be achieved using age hardening.
Danish Name	Superplastisk formning
Category	Mass conserving processes, Sheet metal 3d shaping
Materials	Aluminium (special superplastic type) Titanium (special superplastic type) Stainless steel (special superplastic type)
Typical products	Sprotscar body part Underground train front
Price notes	Fairly low tool costs but long processing times (hours)
Keywords	Free form sheet metal Automotive body parts
Photo	Thomas Nissen (Computer graphics)
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