Archive for the Hydroforming Industry Category

Accuracy in tube hydroforming

On July 12, 2013 / Blog, Hydroforming Industry / Leave a comment

As the demands for lightweight construction and precision grow, tube hydroforming is becoming increasingly popular. Hydroforming is used in a wide variety of applications from industry parts to bikes because the process can create parts that have desired properties, such as complex geometrical shape and light weight. Even the new Corvette design employs hydroformed tubes to keep the car lightweight. With the wide variety of complex shapes that tube hydroforming processes can be used for, you may wonder how accurate the end product is. Well, let’s take a look at some of the variables that go into hydroforming.

First, you start with a tube or sheet of steel that is placed into a cavity, and water at high pressure pushes the steel into the shape of the cavity. The factors that can affect this are:

Change in outer forces

This is looking at the pressure considerations of the liquid in the die cavity, which are between 30 to 150 MPa in comparison to the

Material yield strength
Inner radius of the sharpest cross sectional.
Material wall thickness.

When the pressures are correctly balanced, the deformation of the metal will have an optimal flow and a minimal wall thickening.

Change in friction

For optimal flow of the metal, friction should not be too much or too little. With too much friction, the strain of the metal as it bends could cause it to crack and break. Too little friction could me a malformed product.

Change in material behavior

During deformation, metals undergo stress and strain. With optimal heat and pressure, the metal flow will be such that the metal deforms smoothly into the cavity it’s being molded to.

The changes in these factors will determine optimisation of the flow of the metal as it forms to the cavity. However, skilled technicians can minimize the thickening of the walls, which increases the accuracy and meets tolerances for your project. It is possible to manufacture parts that can fulfil demands with tolerances of 0.5mm for a geometrical shape up to 500mm.

Ready to get your project under way? Contact us to work with our skilled technicians for your next project.

Hydroforming for Performance in the Automotive Industry

On May 31, 2013 / Blog, Hydroforming Industry / Leave a comment

Automakers face a number of challenges in providing consumers with vehicles that are safe, fuel efficient and reliable. One way they are achieving these goals is with the use of hydroformed automotive parts. Hydroforming is a metal fabrication process that uses high pressurized fluid and a specialized type of die molding that produces parts which are lightweight, cost-effective and although thinner, have increased strength and structural integrity.

BMW has been using hydroformed parts in their high performance vehicles for several years. The BMW M3 features hydroformed exhaust tubes, for instance. Ford utilized hydroformed steel tubes in the B-pillars and a hydroformed roof rail in the 2013 Ford Fusion. The structural superiority as well as the lighter weight and reduced costs are key reasons that automakers have begun to incorporate hydroformed parts into their newer models.

Weight is increasingly a concern for both consumers and automakers due to EPA regulations regarding fuel efficiency. A lighter vehicle enjoys improved MPG, in fact, according to the EPA, every 100 pounds of extra weight in a vehicle reduces the MPG by 2 percent.

But perhaps more important than weight and MPG, is safety. Hydroformed parts have a higher stiffness to weight ratio and increased strength. The absence of welding joints means these parts have a greater ability to absorb crash energy. This means vehicles have greater crash worthiness which translates into improved safety for the occupants of the vehicle in case of a crash.

For improved safety and structural strength as well as reduced weight and overall production costs, hydroforming is a perfect solution for the performance automotive industry.

We are American Hydroformers and we specialize in the manufacture of hydroformed parts. Contact us for information on hydroforming solutions for your automotive parts needs.

Hydroforming into the Next Generation

On May 23, 2013 / Blog, Hydroforming Industry / Leave a comment

Technology born in the 1940s has evolved through the decades to become the most desired manufacturing method for widely varied industries. From the shape of a saxophone, the tubes in bicycle frames, high strength automobile components, and even the new stainless steel sink installed your kitchen, hydroforming is a cost effective way to shape aluminum, brass, stainless steel, copper, alloys, and even carbon, into high strength structural components with tight tolerances.

When hydroforming, a large press is used with a punch similar to male die element in matched die forming. What would be the female element is actually a bladder full of hydraulic fluid at extreme pressures, and between the two is a metal blank. The punch presses into the bladder, shaping the metal into the desired form while leaving the surface smooth. Once pressed, the pressure is released from the bladder and the finished part is removed.

Here are some of the advantages to hydroforming:

Tooling costs are lower with hydroforming because the female side is a reusable bladder, only the male die and a holding ring are unique to each job.
Faster prototyping is possible. Various materials and material thicknesses can be used with the same tooling setup. This brings in your total project time thereby reducing development costs.
Complex shapes can be achieved with a single press cycle where traditional matched die forming would require multiple press cycles.
Hydroforming achieves outstanding surface finishes. The soft bladder leaves no lines, scratches, or surface blemishes, which would otherwise require extra time to polish out of the finished product.

At American Hydroformers, we have the expertise and the equipment to provide you with the next generation of formed metal components. From the automotive industry to the appliance business, contact our experts for more information.

Hydroforming Rides New Wave of Interest

On December 11, 2012 / Blog, Hydroforming Industry / Leave a comment

American Hydroformers has slowly built up a niche in the tube hydroforming industry. With nearly 10 years in business, American Hydroformers is ready with expertise, equipment and capacity. Hydroformed components will never replace or completely remove stamped and welded assemblies, however the hydroforming process can delvier a superior component more cost effectively than conventional processes. When looking at the feasibility of having a part or component hydroformed, AHI helps companies look at the technological side of the process to make sure the component will be stronger and lighter, however the business side must be addressed to make sure the component can be made faster or at a lower cost. American Hydroformers can hydroform high-strength, low alloy materials, high yield strength materials up to 650,000 PSI dual phase steels and so on.

To read the full story about American Hydroformers in The Tube and Pipe Journal please contact us.

American Hydroformers was recently spotlighted on the cover of The Tube and Pipe Journal. If you missed the October/November copy let us know and we’ll get you the full story.

Hydroforming is a metal fabricating and forming process which allows the shaping of metals such as steel, stainless steel, copper, aluminum, and brass. This process is a cost-effective and specialized type of die molding that utilizes highly pressurized fluid to form metal. Generally there are two classifications used to describe hydroforming, sheet hydroforming and tube hydroforming. Sheet hydroforming uses one die and a sheet of metal; the blank sheet is driven into the die by high pressure water on one side of the sheet forming the desired shape. Tube hydroforming is the expansion of metal tubes into a shape using two die halves, which contain the raw tube. Hydroforming is used to replace the older process of stamping two part halves and welding them together. It is also used to make parts both more efficiently by eliminating welding as well as creating complex shapes and contours. Parts created in this method have a number of manufacturing benefits including seamless bonding, increased part strength, and the ability to maintain high-quality surfaces for finishing purposes.

Hydroforming Origins

On August 9, 2012 / Blog, Hydroforming Industry / Leave a comment

We’re often asked when and where hydroforming started and how it came to be what it is today. With its potential for cost reduction and its obvious design advantages, it would seem that absolutely everything would be shifting to the hydroforming process.

Surprisingly, the hydroforming process actually started in the 1950’s and was used for producing kitchen spouts. At least in part, the process was developed to allow for easier metal finishing, but also offered the strength and design advantages we often speak of today.

It’s generally assumed that hydroforming is now best known for its application in the automotive sector, but it’s certainly not limited to that. Hydroforming allows complex parts to be build with less tooling, reduces weight by requiring less material, and offers the ultimate sky is the limit approach to design. Automobile designers everywhere have discovered that new hydroformed structures are a lighter and stronger alternative to traditional stamped and welded assemblies. American Hydroformers, Inc. (AHI) can meet the needs of customers in the automotive industry for hydroformed catalytic converter cones and exhaust components, crash tips, cross members, engine cradles, frame rails, header and exhaust manifolds, instrument panel beams, radiator and roof supports, trailing suspension arms and more.

For many years, high performance and race car builders have utilized tubular frame construction for its strength and lightweight nature. With the latest federal mandates for mileage and crash worthiness, hydroformed frames are an ideal solution.

AHI offers automotive hydroforming, diesel exhaust hydroforming, as well as hydroforming for plumbing, recreation vehicles, appliances and other unique applications.

Unlike other metal forming techniques, hydroforming allows for increased part strength, lower part weight, and greater design flexibility, while also improving overall part quality. Contact us to see how you can reduce your tooling and part costs.