Superforming
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Superforming is a hot metal forming process that uses similar principles to thermoforming plastics, where a sheet of material is heated and forced onto a male or female form using gas pressure. The process is useful for producing complex surfaces.[1] The technique was pioneered for use in alloy fighter jets, with a sheet of aluminum heated like "taffy" and then "blown" into a mold by a press system, allowing complex curves.[2] It heats the sheets to 500 degrees Celsius, and after molding, vacuums out the air.[3]
The Jaguar I-Pace was the world's first structure to be made with superforming.[4] In 2015, McLaren announced that the 570S Coupe used superformed aluminum body panels.[2] The first Morgan Aero GTs released in 2018 used the process.[5] According to Bentley, the third-generation 2018 Bentley Continental GT is the first production car ever to have an entire body side made from the Super Formed process.[6][7] The panels are "superformed" with heated aluminum sheets molded by gas instead of a stamp.[8] In particular, the fenders, hood, and doors are superformed.[9]
