Abstract: A flat blank of a metal which becomes superplastic at elevated temperatures is transformed into a part of the desired configuration in an apparatus that is utilized in connection with a hydraulic press, the apparatus having a lower section that is mounted on the press bed and an upper section that moves with the press ram. The lower section includes a forming tool having a contoured surface, the configuration of which corresponds to that which is to be imparted to the blank, and a cooling passage that surrounds the tool. The blank is positioned over the tool and cooling passage of the lower section. The upper section includes a chamber enclosed by walls and a bulkhead, another cooling passage at the lower end of the chamber walls, an infrared emitter within the chamber, and infrared optical sensors that are located outside of the chamber but view the blank through tubes that extend through the bulkhead and the emitter.