Tooling for the Industry: Advantages of Plastics Tooling for the Aircraft Industry, Its Use for Press Tools and Stretch Forming, and Future Prospects

Abstract

PLASTICS tooling has been accepted progressively in the aircraft industry, particularly during the past decade, mainly because of its elementary manufacturing equipment requirements and the saving it provides in time and labour. However, its continued success depends on knowledge of the properties of these materials and skill in applying them. Although metals are the traditional materials for machining or fabricating tools, it is now being realized more than ever before that certain advantages can be gained by the use of plastics in tooling, particularly when considered in the light of job or batch production—these being most significant in the aircraft field—and resulting in improved efficiency and economics. It must, however, also be appreciated that these materials have certain limitations, for in the past they have been adopted by tool designers all to readily as direct alternatives to conventional materials for reasons which were not always well founded.

Citation

Branston, J.L. (1963), "Tooling for the Industry: Advantages of Plastics Tooling for the Aircraft Industry, Its Use for Press Tools and Stretch Forming, and Future Prospects", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 35 No. 1, pp. 14-16. https://doi.org/10.1108/eb033671