CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Blow-up metal technology

Materia: Talking about ‘blowing up metal objects’ often brings explosions to mind. But a technique developed over the last decade is rather more subtle, and looks set to make a mark in the manufacturing industry.

Called FiDU, the technique involves welding thin metal plates together at their edges and then inflating them to create any number of shapes and objects.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This is absolutely outstanding. I can't believe that people are continuing to create lighter and stronger objects and materials. There's countless applications for this not only in theatre, but also in everything imaginable. This metal inflation technique could create a structural platform out of no where in theatre or even send a inflatable, structural base to other planets. The possibilities are definitely endless.

Unknown said...

Wow! This is really cool. It brings to mind both the inflatable structures that they put up over fields and sports courts to shield them from the weather, and how they use positive inside pressure to keep their their shape, and to some extent vacu-form technology. I wonder if they have to heat the metal up to get it to take the shape well, or if the metal looses any of its structural integrity during the bending process. It seems like it would have great applications in aircraft design, if the parts that they engineer are strong enough/