Word to the wise. I have the same Harbor Freight 20 ton press. If you black X plates are cast iron they can break causing extreme excitement. I broke mine doing the same hydropress forming 7 years ago. Ended up buying after-market steel plates , same size, and not had a problem since. Depending on where the pressure points end up in the cast plate it could break and fly. Just be cautious.
I jumped to the end as I am aware of how hydroforming is done, so I may have missed the answers to my questions: - Which alloy are you using and what thickness? - Did you check the strains on the rounded edges to make sure that you did not overstrain the material? - The scratches that you have may be easily polished out. - Have you thought of polishing the blanks to a near mirror or mirror finish prior to insertion in your mold? - The radius of the bends will affect the amount of spring back. - On the hold down screws, if you are going to continue to use a plywood mold, I would recommend drilling the hole oversize and inserting a piece of tubing to reinforce the hole against collapse. - Also, you might want to check the compressive stress on the plywood forms. There could be the possibility that you are exceeding the compressive strength of the wood. If this is the case, you might want to consider making metal molds if you have access to a mill. Overall, good video that demonstrates that an advanced forming technique is achievable with modest equipment at hand.
great process, personally id weld some penny washers onto threaded rod for your retainers as it will spread the load. If you need the dimpled hole, weld the washers on top of the existing screws.
The reason your screws were difficult to remove is because the aluminum screw holes stretched like an egg-shape when you did the pressing. The screw holes in the aluminum were forced sidewaise into the screw threads.
This is quite different from the hydroforming I learned about where the fluid (hydraulic fluid or water) directly presses the material into the form. I don’t think using a hydraulic press and rubber sheets is the same thing. Regardless, this method works.
This is not hydro forming. This is press forming. Hydro forming uses a double sided mold and then one side is pressurized with water and force the material into the female half of the mold. The index holes could be marked using the pattern when the rough piece is cut out which would eliminate all the difficulty holding the material to the pattern to establish where the hole is drilled.
Word to the wise. I have the same Harbor Freight 20 ton press. If you black X plates are cast iron they can break causing extreme excitement. I broke mine doing the same hydropress forming 7 years ago. Ended up buying after-market steel plates , same size, and not had a problem since. Depending on where the pressure points end up in the cast plate it could break and fly. Just be cautious.
The parts turned out really good, nice one!
I jumped to the end as I am aware of how hydroforming is done, so I may have missed the answers to my questions:
- Which alloy are you using and what thickness?
- Did you check the strains on the rounded edges to make sure that you did not overstrain the material?
- The scratches that you have may be easily polished out.
- Have you thought of polishing the blanks to a near mirror or mirror finish prior to insertion in your mold?
- The radius of the bends will affect the amount of spring back.
- On the hold down screws, if you are going to continue to use a plywood mold, I would recommend drilling the hole oversize and inserting a piece of tubing to reinforce the hole against collapse.
- Also, you might want to check the compressive stress on the plywood forms. There could be the possibility that you are exceeding the compressive strength of the wood. If this is the case, you might want to consider making metal molds if you have access to a mill.
Overall, good video that demonstrates that an advanced forming technique is achievable with modest equipment at hand.
great process, personally id weld some penny washers onto threaded rod for your retainers as it will spread the load. If you need the dimpled hole, weld the washers on top of the existing screws.
That’s a lot of work but those parts turned out nice. Thanks for making this video.
I’d love to see a section of wing coming together.
The reason your screws were difficult to remove is because the aluminum screw holes stretched like an egg-shape when you did the pressing. The screw holes in the aluminum were forced sidewaise into the screw threads.
thanks mister.
Well done
I have made rubber forming dies from glass reinforced bondo.
Depending on the height or length of the cutting edge of your router bit you could stack and cut out multiple pieces at the same time.
This is quite different from the hydroforming I learned about where the fluid (hydraulic fluid or water) directly presses the material into the form. I don’t think using a hydraulic press and rubber sheets is the same thing. Regardless, this method works.
D'yall think that Boeing would be so fussy about the scratches etc. on the parts?
Where is the hydro (water) in this process?
Rubber is not compressible, meaning it keeps the same volume under pressure, so it behaves kind of like water under pressure.
This is not hydro forming. This is press forming. Hydro forming uses a double sided mold and then one side is pressurized with water and force the material into the female half of the mold. The index holes could be marked using the pattern when the rough piece is cut out which would eliminate all the difficulty holding the material to the pattern to establish where the hole is drilled.