Automotive component development by means of hydroforming

Hydroforming processes have become popular in recent years, due to the increasing demands for lightweight parts in various fields, such as bicycle, automotive, aircraft and aerospace industries. This technology is relatively new as compared with rolling, forging or stamping, therefore there is not much knowledge available for the product or process designers. Comparing to conventional manufacturing via stamping and welding, tube (THF) and sheet (SHF) hydroforming offers several advantages, such as decrease in workpiece cost, tool cost and product weight, improvement of structural stability and increase of the strength and stiffness of the formed parts, more uniform thickness distribution, fewer secondary operations, etc. The paper presents extensive possibilities of component development in automotive industry by means of hydroforming processes. There are also presented some examples on computer modelling of these processes and limiting phenomena.