How hydroforming works and what it is. Hydroforming is a cost-efficient way of transforming and shaping ductile metals (like aluminum and stainless steel) into lightweight, sturdy pieces. It uses fluid pressure in place of punches and dies.

History of Hydroforming

Using fluid to form metal dates back over a hundred years, where people were creating boiler components and making musical instruments. The Hydroforming process, developed in the late 1940s and early 1950s, was a response to the need for a low-cost method of producing small quantities of deep drawn parts.

 The hydroforming process uses a high-pressure fluid behind a diaphragm to force of a sheet of material into the mold shape.

Distinguished Features of this Process:

• Die closed before adding fluid
• The fluid is the primary forming substance
• Cross-section expands
• Relatively high pressure (more than 20,000 PSI)

Hydroforming Across Industries

This flexible and adaptable solution works for many industries, including aerospace, defense, healthcare, and power generation.

Some Advantages of Hydroforming:

• Low production cost
• Production is high-quality
• The system is highly flexible
• The materials used and created will be strong
• Easily created intended shapes

You can use the process can to form tubular parts such as brackets for bike frames or pipe fittings. You can create tubular parts such as vehicle frame pieces. With specially designed machines, many components can be made by this process at a low cost.

How Hydroforming Works: A Cost-efficient Method

But hydroforming is only cheaper if the part uses a large amount of material, assembly equipment, and labor. Hydroforming must eliminate enough costs to justify its use. Under the right circumstances, this process can improve your business’s performance and cost-competitiveness.

The key to this high-quality, low-volume production is about using the right technology, eliminating manual labor, and minimizing tool costs. You can create seamless parts that are very lightweight, strong, and durable.

Manufacturers can produce custom parts or make generic parts for mass sale and distribution. Because hydroforming uses fluid pressure, you can avoid scratching and flaws. You can also create irregularly-shaped pieces. 

The Various Hydroforming Techniques are:

• Fluid Cell Forming
• Tube Hydroforming
• Deep Draw Hydroforming

All these techniques rely on hydraulic pressure. 

If you have any questions about hydroforming or various techniques, contact us, and we will gladly help you!