Benefits Of Hydroformed Tubing In Automotive Applications
Tube hydroforming plays a key role in manufacturing. Before hydroforming was possible, there wasn’t a way to make sturdy tubes in intricate shapes that hold up over time. Hydroforming allows the design and manufacture of automotive parts that simply wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Many people would agree that hydroforming makes auto parts manufacturing much easier.
There are many benefits to hydroforming the tubes in your automotive parts. Let’s talk about 3 of the biggest ones:
1. Ability To Achieve Complex And Sturdy Shapes
Before the invention of hydroforming, it was difficult to achieve complex and sturdy shapes with metal tubes. While there were still methods that would achieve complex shapes, they still didn’t yield sturdy tubes. With hydroforming, you can create complex shapes that stay sturdy in the long term. It’s because:
- Seams can compromise a tube’s structural integrity. You don’t need to create seams in hydroformed tubes. So hydroformed tubes are, by default, stronger than tubes with seams.
- Before hydroforming, it was difficult to form stiff tubes with thinner walls. With hydroforming, you can produce strong and lightweight tubes, even with complex shapes.
Repeatable precision is an important criteria for tubes in automotive parts. Hydroforming allows you to achieve consistently precise dimensions, even with complex shapes, for every single part. This gives the tubes precise fit and performance.
2. Hydroforming Is More Affordable Than Other Methods
On a per piece basis, hydroforming costs less than other methods. Saving a bit of money on each part may not seem like much, but you’ll end up saving a lot of money once all the costs add up. Why is hydroforming cheaper than other methods? A few reasons:
- Hydroforming is a quick process in terms of time per piece
- Hydroforming creates very little material waste compared to other processes
- Hydroforming is more automated than other processes
Basically, hydroforming is quicker, cheaper, and less wasteful than other methods. Win-win-win.
3. Hydroformed Parts Are Less Likely To Fail Than Other Parts
Hydroforming creates sturdy tubes that last a long time. One advantage of hydroforming is that the tubes retain a uniform stiffness throughout the part. Tubing bent using typical methods will be “work hardened” in some areas, which makes those areas stiffer and more brittle. The uniform stiffness of hydroformed tubes makes them:
- Less likely to fail during normal use
- Better at dissipating noise, vibration, and harshness (NVH)
Uniform stiffness also allows the hydroformed part to have some flexibility. Some hydroformed tubes can be bent into position during assembly. This can help speed up the manufacturing process.
Finding A Hydroforming Company
If you’ve decided to use hydroformed tubes in your parts, the first step is to find a hydroforming company. Here are a few resources on finding the right hydroforming company to partner with:
- 7 Key Benefits Of Manufacturing Auto Parts In Mexico
- How To Find Contract Manufacturers In Mexico
- 5 Important Factors To Consider When Evaluating Contract Manufacturing Bids
- 2 Reasons To Beware Of Lists Of Manufacturing Companies In Mexico
At Intran, we offer hydroforming services, and we have tube bending and tube end forming capability. If you’re interested in learning more about our services and state-of-the-art equipment, you’re welcome to get in touch with us.
Note: At Intran, we’re excited to have added tube hydroforming with bellows/corrugates to our extensive list of services. We hope to add other hydroforming options in the near future but at the present can only offer tube hydroforming with bellows/corrugates.