In one form or another, welding has been around for hundreds of years.
According to the book Friction Stir Welding: From Basics to Applications, “Although joining pieces together can be traced back more than 2,000 years, welding emerged as a viable manufacturing process only in the late 1800s.” It was not until the 1990s, however, that the method we know as friction stir welding emerged.
In that sense, it’s a “newer” technology.
It’s one thing to join pieces of metal together; it’s another to do so without changing their microstructure. The solid state joining process that uses frictional heat generated by a rotating tool has been used for a variety of applications across such industries as aerospace, automotive, shipbuilding and rail. Today, FSW meets the auto industry’s high volume standard and does so in five ways.
The majority of manufacturers will consider metal stamping, hydroforming, and other methods to be processes that are specialized and closely-focused. However, hydroforming and other metal-forming methods are used in a variety of industries. These methods are known to be used in the following industries:
Hydroforming: Yet Another Midwest Distinctive. When Americans think of the Midwest, several distinctives may spring to mind. First, there’s Chicago, the Midwest’s largest and best-known city. Then there are the Midwestern sports teams, such as the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Midwest has always been known for its farming and has been more recently singled out for its ability to draw Hipsters. On a less well-known front, the Midwest occasionally gives its citizens a peek at the Aurora Borealis. More recently, the Midwest has become home to some of the nation’s most promising start-up companies. In fact, the region may soon have more start-ups than the Silicon Valley.
When discussing hydroforming with someone who has never heard of the process, there are obvious questions that will arise: What is hydroforming? How can hydroforming help me and my business?
In the manufacturing industry, there are multiple processes that can compete with one another and still create the same products or products that are similar. The metal stamping process is one of the processes that can compete. This process does have a variety of differences that can separate it from the other competing processes.
American Hydroformers: Creating The Irregular Shapes You Need. There are several types of metal forming processes that are being used today, and one of the most popular processes is hydroforming. When you are looking for a process that can be used to create consistent shapes from any type of metal, the hydroforming process should be at the top of your list. The parts that can be created through the hydroforming process will be adaptable and flexible.
Hydraulic bulge test in hydroforming. As with all operations creating shapes and parts out of metal, the stress and strain must be tested to ensure safety. If a company is creating car roofs using hydroforming out of sheets of metal, hydraulic bulge testing can help determine if the car roof can take the required stress and strain of driving and even accidents.
When you deliberate about the different metal forming processes that are available to us today, how many different things do you discuss? You will probably converse about a variety of things. When we think about metal forming, one of the things we think about is the deep draw hydroforming process. Deep draw hydroforming continues to be one of the most well-known and popular methods of metal forming.
When you think about hydroforming, you will probably only think about the automotive industry. However, deep draw hydroforming will continue to be a dependable and authentic manufacturing process. Those who are using hydroformed parts, regardless of the industry they are in and how they are using it, will find that it can bring a variety of advantages and benefits to any situation.
