(19)
(11) EP 0 194 827 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
19.08.1987 Bulletin 1987/34

(43) Date of publication A2:
17.09.1986 Bulletin 1986/38

(21) Application number: 86301667

(22) Date of filing: 10.03.1986
(84) Designated Contracting States:
BE DE FR GB IT NL SE

(30) Priority: 09.03.1985 GB 8506157

(71) Applicant: BRITISH AEROSPACE PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY
 ()

(72) Inventors:
  • Harding, Robert Anthony British Aerospace P.L.C.
     ()
  • Smith, Stanley Arthur British Aerospace P.L.C.
     ()

   


(54) Superplastic forming


(57) A hollow vessel can be made by fabricating a preform from welded together sheets of superplastically deformable metal and then expanding the preform to the required shape of the vessel but the necessary weld lines can be a source of weakness. Herein, a vessel is made by superplastic deformation of a preform made by machining a hollow space within a solid piece of metal or by extruding a tubuler preform and blanking off at least one of its ends.






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