Special-purpose metalforming machinery maker Group Rhodes has beaten off stiff international competition to win an order from a UK aerospace manufacturer for a 100 tonne Super Plastic Forming (SPF) press which will produce outer guide vanes for jet engines.
The process involves heating the component sheet prior to the forming cycle. The supplied SPF press operates at up to 1000 °C and will supports accurate forming of multi-sheet components into complex, accurate shapes. Group Rhodes, based in Wakefield, is one of only a few companies in the world capable of manufacturing SPF presses to the required specification.
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