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Rubber pad forming
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Rubber pad forming
Rubber pad forming (RPF) is a metalworking process where sheet metal is pressed between a die and a rubber block, made of polyurethane. Under pressure, the rubber and sheet metal are driven into the die and conform to its shape, forming the part. The rubber pads can have a general purpose shape, like a membrane. Alternatively, they can be machined in the shape of die or punch.
Rubber pad forming is a deep drawing technique that is ideally suited for the production of small and medium-sized series. Deep drawing makes it possible to deform sheet metal in two directions, which offers great benefits in terms of function integration, weight reduction, cleanability and such.
The disadvantage of regular deep drawing is that expensive tools consisting of an upper and lower mold are needed. Once these tools have been made, the variable costs are low, which makes regular deep drawing very suitable for large and very large numbers of products.
In the rubber pad forming process only a milled lower die is required on which a metal plate is placed. Afterwards, the shape of the lower die is pressed in the plate with the rubber mold. In most cases, the contour, hole patterns and the like will be cut with a 3D laser cutter.
The simplicity of the rubber press tool causes tooling costs to be around 85 to 90% lower than those of regular deep drawing while the variable costs are higher. This combination makes rubber pad pressing very suitable for smaller and medium-sized series (up to 5,000-10,000 pieces per year), even though traditional cutting, lace, welding, finishing etc. is used more due to the unfamiliarity with rubber pad forming.
Rubber pad forming has been used in production lines for many years. Up to 60% of all sheet metal parts in the aerospace industry are fabricated using this process. The most relevant applications are indeed in the aerospace field. It is frequently used in prototyping shops and for the production of kitchenware. For a decade, rubber pad pressing has developed greatly into a widely used technology for many industrial applications.
Enormous pressing forces are required for the rubber presses to work. In the Netherlands there are several rubber pad presses, of which the largest one has a press force of no less than 8,000 tons with a maximum surface area of 1.10x2.20m, these presses are used for very diverse industrial applications.[citation needed]
Worldwide, presses are in use up to about 14,000 tonnes.[citation needed]
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Rubber pad forming AI simulator
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Rubber pad forming
Rubber pad forming (RPF) is a metalworking process where sheet metal is pressed between a die and a rubber block, made of polyurethane. Under pressure, the rubber and sheet metal are driven into the die and conform to its shape, forming the part. The rubber pads can have a general purpose shape, like a membrane. Alternatively, they can be machined in the shape of die or punch.
Rubber pad forming is a deep drawing technique that is ideally suited for the production of small and medium-sized series. Deep drawing makes it possible to deform sheet metal in two directions, which offers great benefits in terms of function integration, weight reduction, cleanability and such.
The disadvantage of regular deep drawing is that expensive tools consisting of an upper and lower mold are needed. Once these tools have been made, the variable costs are low, which makes regular deep drawing very suitable for large and very large numbers of products.
In the rubber pad forming process only a milled lower die is required on which a metal plate is placed. Afterwards, the shape of the lower die is pressed in the plate with the rubber mold. In most cases, the contour, hole patterns and the like will be cut with a 3D laser cutter.
The simplicity of the rubber press tool causes tooling costs to be around 85 to 90% lower than those of regular deep drawing while the variable costs are higher. This combination makes rubber pad pressing very suitable for smaller and medium-sized series (up to 5,000-10,000 pieces per year), even though traditional cutting, lace, welding, finishing etc. is used more due to the unfamiliarity with rubber pad forming.
Rubber pad forming has been used in production lines for many years. Up to 60% of all sheet metal parts in the aerospace industry are fabricated using this process. The most relevant applications are indeed in the aerospace field. It is frequently used in prototyping shops and for the production of kitchenware. For a decade, rubber pad pressing has developed greatly into a widely used technology for many industrial applications.
Enormous pressing forces are required for the rubber presses to work. In the Netherlands there are several rubber pad presses, of which the largest one has a press force of no less than 8,000 tons with a maximum surface area of 1.10x2.20m, these presses are used for very diverse industrial applications.[citation needed]
Worldwide, presses are in use up to about 14,000 tonnes.[citation needed]
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