Method of forming workpieces by means of multi-sectional pressing members

A method of forming a workpiece made up of two portions of material secured together to form pockets therebetween, comprising the steps of

• inserting formers into said pockets, each former having a cross-sectional shape to be imparted to the pocket in which it is accommodated, and
• thereafter placing the workpiece, with the formers thus accommodated in the pockets thereof, between two presser members having corrugated presser surfaces corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the formers such that adjacent pockets of the workpiece each together with the former are accommodated in adjacent cooperating corrugations of each presser member,
• wherein each presser member is made up of a plurality of sections, each section comprising at least one corrugation, said sections being supported on a support arrangement for movement between a spaced-apart position and a closed position,
• and wherein the workpiece, with the formers accommodated in pockets thereof, is brought into surface contact with the corrugated surfaces provided by the presser members while the sections of each thereof are in their spacedapart position, the workpiece thus being held between the corrugated surfaces,
• the method further comprising the steps of
• then closing the sections together whereby the workpiece held as aforesaid is compressed laterally,
• and thereafter applying forming pressure to the presser members, and thus to the workpiece held in its laterally compressed condition therebetween.