Integrated die forming and welding process and apparatus therefor
OwnerTad Machrowicz, Terry Bowmaninventors
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A forming system for shaping a metal article includes a pair of die members having a welding station associated therewith. The die members are operative to shape a workpiece disposed therebetween, and the welding station carries out welding operation on the article. The die members may be part of a die quench set which shapes and quenches a heated article. Welding may take place before, during, or after the shaping and quenching steps. Also disclosed are methods and specific apparatus for carrying out the invention.
Claims20
A forming die for shaping a metal article, said forming die comprising:
- a first die member;
- a second die member, at least one of said first and second die members being movable relative to the other so as to shape a workpiece disposed therebetween;
- and
- a welding station associated with at least one of said first and second die members, said welding station being operational to carry out a welding operation on said workpiece when it is disposed between said first and second die members.
A method for die forming an article, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a forming die including a first die member, and a second die member, at least one of said first and second die members being movable relative to the other so as to shape a workpiece disposed therebetween;
- providing a welding station associated with at least one of said first and second die members, said welding station being operational to carry out a welding operation on said workpiece;
- disposing a workpiece in said forming die;
- forming said workpiece in said forming die;
- and
- performing a welding operation on said workpiece when it is in said forming die.
In a method for die forming an article, said method comprising the steps of:
- providing a metal workpiece which is to be formed, heating said workpiece to a temperature above ambient, providing a forming die, disposing said heated workpiece in said die and operating said die so as to change the shape of said workpiece, the improvement comprising:
- providing a welding station in said die, and performing a welding operation on said workpiece when it is in said die.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.