Wire Forming - Electroforming

Forming

Wire Forming Wire Forming: The process of making products out of wire has progressed from loose tolerance everyday items to high precision products, including wireform/sheetmetal hybrids, for high technology applications. In these applications, hybrids can mean lower cost, lighter parts that are easier to work with and which provide more flexible solutions to design engineering parameters that cannot be met by sheet metal alone. The hybrids also allow for flexibility in production that blends well with users on just-in-time manufacturing systems or ship-to-stock programs.
Precision wireforms and especially wireform/sheetmetal hybrid products are particularly suitable for use as chassis within enclosures or other master assemblies. The hybrid chassis provides secure, precise alignment and location of the various components while maximizing design flexibilities and minimizing product weight and cost.

Electroforming
Electroforming is a special type of electroplating in which a part is fabricated by the deposition of the desired metal on a form called a mandrel or matrix. The electrodeposited metal is built up to the desired thickness on the mandrel, and then the two are separated.
Electroforming offers a wide range of control over strength, density, porosity, and purity of the deposited metal to meet individual product needs. Extremely fine molds and dies can be electroformed from a variety of metals, most commonly copper, nickel, and iron. The virtually perfect surface reproducibility offered by electroforming makes it ideal for such dimensionally critical applications as lens molds, embossing plates, fine printing plates, and high-resolution optical disk molds.

Pressure Forming Pressure forming is a sophisticated version of the vacuum forming process. This process closes the appearance gap with traditional molding techniques. Pressure forming is really an old thermoforming technique which has been used by the thin-gage plastic packaging forming industry for many years. The mold makers start by creating a pattern based upon drawings and specifications of the custom part. From the pattern, these craftsmen produce either a hardwood or aluminum mold. A wooden mold is used mainly for a customer required prototype or a very low volume production run. The aluminum mold is used for a full production run and when the pressure forming process is necessary.

Hydroforming Hydroforming is a method of forming preplied thermoplastic composites which does not require autoclaving. This process is mainly suitable for flat or mildly contoured parts and involves heating the thermoplastic above its melting point, before the application of pressure to shape the sheet on the forming block.

Roll Forming Roll forming is the process of bending a continuous strip of metal through a series of shaped rolls. The process gradually forms metal into a pre-determined shape. The machinery incorporates a cut-off system, which cuts the metal to an exact length. The nature of forming metal by this process allows for very tight tolerances to be met and maintained.
Strength and function are added to metal through custom roll forming. The marketplace of custom shaped roll formed sections has expanded into virtually every field, replacing extrusions, brake forming and punch press operations in areas such as the aircraft industry, architectural industry, electronics, and the automotive industry.

Thermoforming Thermoforming involves the controlled heating of a thermoplastic material to a temperature where its shape may be altered to the shape of the mold. The physical change to the preheated thermoplastic is accomplished by vacuum forming, air, pressure or direct mechanical force.
The advantages of thermoforming are the capability to form large parts without expensive equipment and tooling, ease of producing large quantities, inexpensive mold and design modifications, and laminated or foam-filled parts capability. Thermoplastics most commonly specified are acrylic, ABS, PVC, CAB and polycarbonates. Exotic types include Turlan, Espel and Teflon. Precolored sheets are also used in addition to the secondary steps of robotic painting, pad printing, hot stamping and silk screening.

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		Wire Forming: The process of making products out of wire has progressed from loose tolerance everyday items to high precision products, including wireform/sheetmetal hybrids, for high technology applications. In these applications, hybrids can mean lower cost, lighter parts that are easier to work with and which provide more flexible solutions to design engineering parameters that cannot be met by sheet metal alone. The hybrids also allow for flexibility in production that blends well with users on just-in-time manufacturing systems or ship-to-stock programs. Precision wireforms and especially wireform/sheetmetal hybrid products are particularly suitable for use as chassis within enclosures or other master assemblies. The hybrid chassis provides secure, precise alignment and location of the various components while maximizing design flexibilities and minimizing product weight and cost.
		Electroforming is a special type of electroplating in which a part is fabricated by the deposition of the desired metal on a form called a mandrel or matrix. The electrodeposited metal is built up to the desired thickness on the mandrel, and then the two are separated. Electroforming offers a wide range of control over strength, density, porosity, and purity of the deposited metal to meet individual product needs. Extremely fine molds and dies can be electroformed from a variety of metals, most commonly copper, nickel, and iron. The virtually perfect surface reproducibility offered by electroforming makes it ideal for such dimensionally critical applications as lens molds, embossing plates, fine printing plates, and high-resolution optical disk molds.
		Pressure forming is a sophisticated version of the vacuum forming process. This process closes the appearance gap with traditional molding techniques. Pressure forming is really an old thermoforming technique which has been used by the thin-gage plastic packaging forming industry for many years. The mold makers start by creating a pattern based upon drawings and specifications of the custom part. From the pattern, these craftsmen produce either a hardwood or aluminum mold. A wooden mold is used mainly for a customer required prototype or a very low volume production run. The aluminum mold is used for a full production run and when the pressure forming process is necessary.
		Hydroforming is a method of forming preplied thermoplastic composites which does not require autoclaving. This process is mainly suitable for flat or mildly contoured parts and involves heating the thermoplastic above its melting point, before the application of pressure to shape the sheet on the forming block.
		Roll forming is the process of bending a continuous strip of metal through a series of shaped rolls. The process gradually forms metal into a pre-determined shape. The machinery incorporates a cut-off system, which cuts the metal to an exact length. The nature of forming metal by this process allows for very tight tolerances to be met and maintained. Strength and function are added to metal through custom roll forming. The marketplace of custom shaped roll formed sections has expanded into virtually every field, replacing extrusions, brake forming and punch press operations in areas such as the aircraft industry, architectural industry, electronics, and the automotive industry.
		Thermoforming involves the controlled heating of a thermoplastic material to a temperature where its shape may be altered to the shape of the mold. The physical change to the preheated thermoplastic is accomplished by vacuum forming, air, pressure or direct mechanical force. The advantages of thermoforming are the capability to form large parts without expensive equipment and tooling, ease of producing large quantities, inexpensive mold and design modifications, and laminated or foam-filled parts capability. Thermoplastics most commonly specified are acrylic, ABS, PVC, CAB and polycarbonates. Exotic types include Turlan, Espel and Teflon. Precolored sheets are also used in addition to the secondary steps of robotic painting, pad printing, hot stamping and silk screening. Brought to you by: