ETG’s Delivering Complex Bulge-Formed Parts

Standex ETG’s McStarlite business has designed and built two custom bulge form presses, providing ETG with another valuable tool to deliver precision and flexibility in exotic metal forming to meet the unique demands of our aerospace and defense customers

McStarlite Aviation Bulge Forming

What is Bulge Forming?

Bulge forming is an advanced metal forming process where a rubber bladder is hydraulically expanded inside a pressure vessel. This expansion forces a sheet metal blank to conform to the shape of the vessel’s interior, producing highly accurate, complex parts.

Benefits of Choosing Bulging

Bulging is ideal for producing specialty industrial components for aerospace and defense that require:

  • Strength
  • Aerodynamic shape
  • Structural integrity

This technology has been developed to manufacture new development and production exhaust components, engine nozzles, and more.

Materials & Thicknesses We Use for Bulge Forming

Material Maximum Thickness
Aluminum 2000 Series 0.375″ (9.525 mm)
Aluminum 6000 Series 0.190″ (4.826 mm)
Stainless 300 Series 0.063” (1.6 mm)
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