Claims
- 1. A method of forming a part on Invar tooling, the method comprising:
using a tool header having a surface with a desired curvature to provide a support surface; placing an Invar facesheet with a preformed contour at least substantially in accordance with said desired curvature of said tool header surface, against said tool header surface; securing said Invar facesheet to said tool header surface such that said Invar facesheet and said tool header cooperatively form an Invar tool; and using said Invar tool to as a support surface to help form said part into a desired shape.
- 2. The method of claim 1, wherein placing said Invar facesheet against said tool header surface comprises placing an Invar 36 facesheet against said tool header surface.
- 3. The method of claim 1, wherein placing said Invar facesheet against said tool header surface comprises placing a superplastically formed (SPF) Invar facesheet against said tool header surface.
- 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising placing a plurality of Invar facesheets each having a predetermined curvature against said tool header surface.
- 5. The method of claim 1, further comprising securing said Invar facesheet to said tool header surface by welding.
- 6. A method of forming a part using an Invar tool, the method comprising:
using a tool header having a surface with a desired curvature to provide a support surface; placing at least one Invar facesheet with a preformed contour at least substantially in accordance with said desired curvature of said tool header surface, against said tool header surface; fixedly securing said Invar facesheet to said tool header surface to form a unitary Invar tool; and using said Invar tool as a support surface to help impart a desired shape to a part placed against said Invar tool and forcibly urged against said Invar tool.
- 7. The method of claim 6, further comprising welding said Invar facesheet to said tool header surface.
- 8. The method of claim 6, wherein placing at least one Invar facesheet comprises placing at least one Invar 36 facesheet against said tool header surface.
- 9. The method of claim 6, wherein placing at least one Invar facesheet comprises placing at least on superplastically formed (SPF) Invar facesheet against said tool header surface.
- 10. A method of forming a part with a desired curvature, comprising:
using a tool header having a surface with a desired shape to provide a support surface for supporting said part; placing a superplastically formed (SPF) Invar facesheet with a preformed contour at least substantially in accordance with said desired shape of said tool header surface, against said tool header surface, to substantially cover said surface of said tool header; fixedly securing said Invar facesheet to said tool header surface such that said Invar facesheet and said tool header surface are held immovably relative to one another, and such that said Invar facesheet and said tool header cooperatively form an Invar tool; and using said Invar tool to as a support surface to help form said part into a desired shape when said part is urged against said Invar tool.
- 11. The method of claim 10, wherein fixedly securing said Invar facesheet comprises welding said Invar facesheet to said tool header surface.
- 12. The method of claim 10, wherein placing said SPF Invar facesheet against said tool header surface comprises placing a SPF Invar 36 facesheet against said tool header surface.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application No. 09/528,328 filed on Mar. 20, 2000, presently allowed.
Divisions (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09528328 |
Mar 2000 |
US |
Child |
10348401 |
Jan 2003 |
US |