Sizes & Tolerances
Our flowforming capabilities range from diameters of .866" to 25.600" (22-650mm), wall thicknesses from .006" to .500" (0.15-12.7mm) with lengths up to 40 ft (12 meters). Since flowforming poses no limitations on the relationship between component diameter and wall thickness, we can produce large diameters with precise, thin walls.
The specified minimum and maximum wall thicknesses for a given diameter range, as well as other shown limits, are not fixed and can be varied to meet your requirements. It should be noted that the degree of dimensional accuracy is highly dependent on the material of the component, its size and thickness, as well as possible distortion caused by the requirement for any post-forming heat treatment. As such, applicability of dimensional tolerances is on a case by case basis.
Geometries
Flowforming produces dimensionally precise, round, seamless, hollow components. We use forward flowforming, reverse flowforming and shearforming techniques to create tube, closed cylinder, conical, parabolic and other geometries.
Materials
ATI Alloys
- Titanium
- Nickel/Cobalt
- Stainless Steel
- Zirconium
- Niobium, Hafnium, Tantalum, Tungsten, and Vanadium Alloys
- Armor Materials
Other Alloys
- Aluminum Alloys
- Bearing & Tool Steels
- Copper Based Alloys
- Magnesium Alloys
- Precious Metals
- Refractory Alloys
- Carbon Steel Alloys
We can flowform more than 50 metals from more than a dozen different alloy groups, from aluminum to zircalloy, including the ATI alloys linked above. We have the experience to bring this efficient and versatile process to even the most challenging materials for high-performance applications.
Methods
Our flowforming equipment can be configured for forward flowforming, reverse flowforming or shearforming, depending on the application. Typically, a cylinder with one closed or partially closed end is forward flowformed. A cylinder with two open ends is reverse flowformed. A conical or ogivial component is shearformed. In some cases, a combination of forward and reverse flowforming is used to achieve the desired geometry.