Hydroforming Complex Shapes For Cost-Savings And Efficiency
Cold-Forming Methods
,Hydroforming
Jones Metal Forming is the expert in hydroforming complex shapes. Often parts in the medical, defense, aerospace, lighting, or automotive industries require asymmetrical or irregular shapes. For example, lighting reflectors or jet engine components can have deep grooves or spokes, and deep draw stamping simply isn’t effective at producing these difficult-to-form parts in a cost-effective manner. Additionally, many of these parts require smooth finishes, and that can be difficult to achieve with deep draw stamping. That’s why hydroforming is the optimal process for parts with complex shapes.
During the hydroforming process, a female die composed of a rubber diaphragm presses through a metal ring in a forming chamber. In the forming chamber, pressurized oil makes the magic happen as it presses the female die into the male die. The process is quick and efficient and parts emerge from the chamber shiny and void of blemishes because the female die is rubber, as opposed to metal, in matched tie tooling. Virtually any type of metal can undergo the process of hydroforming, including nickel alloys, aluminum, titanium, bronze, copper, brass, lead, steal and many more.
With other cold-forming methods, parts with complex shapes often require multiple press cycles. With hydroforming, however, parts can be drawn in a single cycle. That results in a reduction of 60-70 percent, as compared to 35-45 percent for other die presses. Additionally, because parts do not require extra tooling, hydroforming complex shapes can be up to 50 percent more cost-effective than matched die tooling. Finally, achieving an aesthetically-pleasing finish doesn’t mean that manufacturers have to sacrifice durability. Hydroformed parts are both blemish-free and stronger than they were before the cold-forming process.
When hydroforming complex shapes, Jones Metal Forming takes care to make the process as smooth and cost-effective as possible for their customers. Our engineers understand the complex needs of our customers and help them solve even their toughest cold-forming challenges. And while hydroforming has numerous advantages over other matched die drawing, especially with complex shapes, there may be times where deep draw stamping is a better fit. Jones Metal is one of the nation’s largest and most well-respected contract hydroformers but we also have expertise in deep draw stamping. Contact us for more information on either process, and be sure to watch our YouTube video about the hydroforming process.
To learn more about hydroforming complex shapes, call Jones Metal at 740-545-6381!
Recommended Resources from the Hydroforming Experts
Check out our latest video featuring
a deep dive on hydroforming by Jones Metal Products.
Related Links
