5. Forming processes

The forming processes used for superplastic materials can be classified into two main categories:

• processes derived from those used for plastics, such as thermoforming or blow molding;

• traditional metal and alloy forming processes such as forging, as well as powder metallurgy combined with forging, particularly for nickel-based superalloys.

In this paragraph, we will briefly discuss only the first category due to its unusual nature for metallic materials on the one hand, and its importance for aluminum and titanium alloys, which constitute the majority of applications, on the other.