Some ideas for the further development of hydroforming process chains

Even though the spectrum of parts is expected to shift over the long term as a result of increasing e-mobility, there is still an extremely high demand for complex components made of high-strength materials which can only be produced by hydroforming technologies. The innovative combination of hydroforming processes with other forming processes, as well as the improvement of the processes themselves, offers considerable potential for improvement. A number of promising ways of improving the hydroforming process chain are therefore the subject of this contribution. The focus of the article is on possible approaches for combining (incremental) pre- and post-forming operations, which can permit considerable improvements in both quality and features at a reduced cost. Furthermore, a novel combination of quasi-static and high-speed forming processes is presented, leading to an improved overall forming process (with a high application potential) for the production of complex parts.