The Triumph Dolomite Club - EzBoard Archive

Another one of my idle musings. I've a fair understanding of metalwork and machining - mills, lathes, grinding, linishing, CNC, spark & wire erosion etc having worked in a machineshop in my yoof. I've absolutely no clue though when it comes to pressings such as those that go into making a car.<br>
<br>
Does something like a wing require multiple pressings? I <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>guess</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> something as shaped as a dolly wing does? Maybe three or four operations to get from flat sheet to ready to use wing? Are panels cut and shaped in the same pressing or must it be separate? Any beginners guides out there?<br>
<br>
Does anyone have any idea what sort of figures a set of press plates costs? I know it's gonna be big and I'm not thinking it's gonna be in the reach of a whipround. I just don't have the first clue and that bugs me. 4, 5 or 6 digits?<br>
<br>
Tinweevil

<p>1978 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/704">Dolomite Sprint</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
1972 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/754">Spitfire IV</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
1968 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/705">GT6 II</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
1973 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/755">Dolomite Sprint</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
39 anorak points on the Nicholas scale<br>
</p><i></i>

Quality video of someone pressing a sink, just to give you an idea...<br>
<br>
<!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.matter.org.uk/steelmatter/ma ... <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END-->

<p></p><i></i>

Cheers dave, an interesting start.<br>
<br>
A fair old depth in one go. It's amazing to me that given the huge distortion in what will be offcut there's no sign of it in the sides.<br>
<br>
Tinweevil<br>
<br>


<p>1978 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/704">Dolomite Sprint</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
1972 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/754">Spitfire IV</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
1968 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/705">GT6 II</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
1973 <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.triumphowners.com/755">Dolomite Sprint</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--><br>
39 anorak points on the Nicholas scale<br>
</p><i></i>

Try this company <!--EZCODE LINK START--><a href="http://www.stadco.co.uk" target="top">www.stadco.co.uk</a><!--EZCODE LINK END--> they press panels for Ford, drop them a e-mail I am sure they will give you the info you need.<br>


<p>Maurice</p><i></i>

Typical wing press tools cost about 100 grand. That's why most modern cars have plastic wings, bootlids etc these days as injection moulding tooling is about half the cost.<br>
<br>
Jod

<p><!--EZCODE IMAGE START--><img src="http://www.towingandleisure.co.uk/images/bash.gif" style="border:0;"/><!--EZCODE IMAGE END--></p><i></i>

...and that cost is why when they 'face lift' cars they generally leave the doors alone.<br>
<br>
By comparison, to avoid distortion, when they make profiled cladding panels for buildings which are very simple and are rolled rather than pressed, they pass through a series of up to two dozen sets of rollers on a conveyor, each set incrementally increasing the depth of profile. They work to fairly tight tolerances with these guaranteeing plus or minus a few mm over a 6 metre long sheet. Car wings today would far exceed these accuracy requirements (unless its TVR where the design allows for crap fitting to be hidden from the eye and they use plastic anyway)

<p></p><i></i>

I'm sure the reason they have those big gaps is so that the front end doesn't rub on the mid-section when you are doing 195mph. Maybe....<br>
<br>
Or it could be that they are assembled by chimps on work experience!<br>
<br>
ScotTvr

<p></p><i></i>