The last place I worked had a 1400 TON, A 700ton, A 500, and smaller ones. Where I work today we have a 600 and 300, and smaller.
The first place did the roofs and doors for Western Star trucks, The place I work now, on the 600Ton , builds the grille sides, hood pull cover, crossmembers, etc for same trucks.
Generally it is done with series of dies without heat or annealing, but on deeper draws material might require annealing.. think welding cyinders or bathtub..
On the blank for say an inner doorskin there are holes, that get covered later. The size of the initial hole can make a huge difference on how the metal stretches..
Also to help under stand the process there is often an outer piece that holds the outer edge of the material as it is drawn, then trimmed off later.. just mentioning this may make it easier to understand.
At BMW in Munich they have 6 1500 tons in a row, and parts run thru all 6 without human touch! The dies are the size if a pickup box, and can weigh 7 -10 tons. These 6 presses were on the third floor!. But the presses are often equipped with as much hydrauliccs underneath as up top, so the 3 story working floor is the middle of the press and the loading area. The 1400 ton Kawasaki at the last place i worked was 28 ft above ground level and almost as much underneath!
