Floatforming

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Floatforming ( extrusion ) is a forming process for sheet metal with a liquid as the forming medium. In this process, the upper and lower tool holders are floating so that the tool does not sag.

With floatforming, the sheet metal lies between the mold halves at the start of the process. The sheet slides into its end position with increasing pressure. The degree of deformation is preferably made possible not by the stretching, but by a post-flow. Ironing with the resulting change in structure and material thickness does not occur until the end of the process.

The floatforming press suitable for series production has a clamping force of 5,000 tons and weighs approx. 90 tons. It has a tool installation space of 0.5 × 1 × 2 m and can use a pressure intensifier to apply a water pressure of up to 2,500 bar to the sheet metal to be formed.

The special deformation possibilities can be seen when processing patterned sheets, as the careful processing does not change or damage the designs of the aluminum sheets .