Controlled hydraulic forming for deep drawn parts
Perfected in the 1950’s, hydroforming is a technique to deep draw sheet metal with the least tool expense. Because the process flows the metal rather than stretching it, material “thin out” is minimal—often allowing thinner blanks and material savings.
Capability overview
Aero Trades offers hydroforming for all metals with blanks ranging from 12" to 32" and draw depths from 7" to 12", using a press of 15,000 PSI to draw a variety of intricate shapes.
Materials
- Aluminum alloys 6061, 2024, 5052, 6061, 7075
- Brass
- Copper
- Low alloy steels
- Stainless steel — 301, 304, 316, 321
- Monel
- 17-7
- 17-5
- Hastelloys ®
- Inconel ®
- Mo-Metal
Complete shop facilities and secondary operations
- Deep drawing
- Stamping
- Machining
- Water jet cutting
- Certified heat treating
- Assembly
- Tool & die making
- Painting & finishing
- Engineering assistance
Why hydroforming
Deep drawing using the Hydroform requires only a draw ring (blank holder) and male punch—setups are quick and simple. The tooling is self-centered and self-aligning.
A male die (punch) and draw ring are generally the only tools required. The rubber diaphragm acts as a universal female die, and hydroforming tools normally cost at least 50% less than conventional press tooling.
The flexible diaphragm minimizes and often eliminates shock lines and draw marks. Controlled pressure over the entire blank allows a higher percentage of reduction while keeping thin-out to a minimum.
Two or three conventional deep draw operations can often be replaced by one operation using the Hydroform, and hydroforming can sometimes accomplish up to 90% of the forming required in spun shapes.
