Everything You Need To Know About Hydroforming

As a purchasing agent, you need understand what you can about many different types of manufacturing processes so you can make the right decision for the parts that you are going to have produced. If you are looking for a symmetrically round metal part to be made, then it helps to learn about what hydroforming is and what can be done with this type of process. There are only a few hydroforming companies in the USA because the equipment being used is highly specialized.

What Is Hydroforming?

Hydroforming is a technology for forming and creating metal parts. It allows for precision shaping of metal parts that are drawn to a depth more than 5 inches deeper than the previous formation. Most deep draw metal stamping machines do not have the capability to go deeper than 4 inches. In this hydroforming process, a pressurized fluid is used to form the metal pieces around a mold or die. The metal materials being formed often start out as a flat sheet or occasionally a tube.

Hydroforming sheet metal starts off as an approximately cut flat sheet of metal that is pushed around a die form with the pressurized water or oil to form the shape. Hydroforming is most often used when the production runs fall below 2500 pieces and not often used in longer runs. Some of the products that lend themselves best to hydroforming sheet metal are seamless vats, vessels, tanks, cooking pans and other types of metal containers. Many of the metal forming manufacturers that include deep draw metal forming in their offerings also include seam welding services, so they can bring two haves of a vessel together.Many times, hydroforming sheet metal creates seamless parts that get attached to other metal components with the aid of gaskets and fasteners.

The Process

The actual process of hydroforming starts with tooling that is made according to a CAD diagram. The tool goes into a tray with the metal placed over the form. Everything is moved into the chamber for forming. The machine fills with the water or a specially oil and begins the process of lifting, stretching and shaping the metal using a tremendous amount of force. The fluid is then extracted back into its reservoir and the chamber opens with the completed part.

Using Hydroforming

Hydroforming can be used in many applications with various types of metal. It is great for parts that have 90-degree bends or dramatic shaping requirements. It is ideal if the part needs to be lightweight, and it also costs less than typical deep draw stamping processes, which is perfect if you are looking for lower part costs on shorter production runs.

Materials can be anything from titanium, stainless steel, various carbon steel grades, aluminum to and even copper.