Method and apparatus for forming material by forcing through a die orifice
AssigneeNational Research Development Corporation
InventorsGraham R. Dawson, Dennis H. Sansome
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Method and apparatus for deforming the section of material by forcing it, e.g. punching or drawing it, through a die. The die, die holder and workpiece are vibrated in tune, e.g. acoustically, so that points on the walls of the die orifice oscillate in a direction lying generally radial to the die axis. This causes the die to exert a swaging action upon the material and contribute to the deformation thus reducing the power needs for forcing the workpiece through the die and increasing the maximum deformation obtainable.
Claims7
Apparatus for substantially deforming a section of a workpiece, said apparatus comprising:
- a. a circumferentially continuous die with an orifice therein defining a deforming axis;
- b. power means for forcing the workpiece through said die orifice to effect said deformation;
- c. a die holding member assembled with said die;
- d. means for supporting said die holding member, said supporting means being disposed with substantially symmetry relative to said deforming axis when viewed in projection onto a plane normal to said axis, so that said axis is held stationary, and
- e. vibrator means tuned to the assembly of said workpiece, die and die holding member for vibrating said assembly to cause said assembly as a whole to resonate in a mode in which the die expands and contracts radially, so that a swaging action is effected upon the workpiece to perform positive deformation work upon it, and thereby reduce the proportion of the total of said deformation that said power means are required to effect, said vibrator means comprising at least one vibrator device assembled with said die holding member, said vibrator means being disposed with substantial symmetry relative to said deforming axis when viewed in projection onto a plane lying normal to said axis.
A method for substantially deforming a section of a workpiece, said method comprising the steps of:
- a. by using power means, forcing a workpiece through a die orifice of a circumferentially continuous die, assembled with a die holding member, said assembly being supported by means disposed with substantial symmetry relative to the axis of said die when viewed in projection onto a plane normal to that axis, whereby that axis is held stationary, and
- b. vibrating the assembly of said die, workpiece and die holding member by means of a vibrator device disposed with substantial symmetry relative to said die axis when viewed in projection onto a plane normal to that axis, and tuned to said assembly to cause said assembly as a whole to resonate in a mode in which the die orifice expands and contracts radially to exert a swaging action upon the workpiece and perform positive deformation work upon it, so that the proportion of the totality of said deformation that said power means are required to effect is reduced.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.