6. Cost-effectiveness of superplastic forming

The profitability of a forming process depends on several parameters, including production rate and the cost of presses and tools. It is generally accepted that superplastic forming is particularly suited to medium-run production, as found in the aerospace and even rail industries. This is due, on the one hand, to the relatively slow deformation speeds at which superplastic properties can be obtained with the microstructures currently available on the market (which excludes large-scale production) and, on the other hand, to the relatively low cost of the presses (compared to the cost of presses used for deep drawing, for example). Recently, a special effort has been made to reduce the cost of tooling.

This reduction in costs often leads to the search for the lowest possible forming temperatures in order to be able to form new materials with existing tools or to...