Interlaken Technology adds hot metal gas forming press

Interlaken Technology Co. LLC, a provider of material testing, product design, and prototyping services, has installed a 500-ton HEATform™ hot metal gas forming press at its Chaska, Minn., facility for producing parts not constrained by raw material selection or geometric complexity.

“This technology allows for greater freedom in designing formed metal parts by removing quite a few of the limitations faced using standard forming processes,” said ITC President Robb Bass.

The technology uses gas pressure to form alloys in a heat-softened state. The process of molds being opened and closed by a main press actuator is conventional, but the addition of temperature allows parts to be made using less force. The tools are designed more for forming parts than controlling massive forming pressures. Expansion and forming ratio limits are no longer significant design constraints.

Accurate control over temperature, pressure, and force application enables the process to produce shapes and feature details not achieved in traditional cold metal forming, using almost any metal alloy.