Benefits of FluidForming
FluidForming enables innovation.
The benefits of FluidForming include 99.996% accuracy and repeatability, flexibility, press versatility, rapid product development and prototyping, complex part formation capabilities, and improved product performance.
In addition to the process benefits of FluidForming and the tube forming and metal forming capabilities of FormBalancer presses, FluidForming Americas can also help companies with product and part design optimization.
Quality benefits
of FluidForming & FluidForming Americas.
- Six Sigma quality, accuracy, & repeatability.
- Eliminates bladder friction & tool marks.
- Accommodates complex part formation.
- Forms detailed impressions & microchannels.
- Accommodates undercuts.
- Minimizes springback & material thinning.
- Increases dimensional stability.
- Encourages creative & innovative design.
- Enables the use of pre-painted, polished, & patterned materials.
- Finite Element Analysis (FEA) for optimal part performance & forming.
Cost-saving benefits
of FluidForming & FluidForming Americas.
- Reduces secondary operations or post-production fixturing.
- Uses a single die from prototyping through production.
- Reduces the use of consumables.
- Eliminates bladders & the risk of bladder ruptures.
- Lowers scrap costs.
- Minimizes material waste.
- Nested tooling capabilities.
- Accommodates die inserts and product branding.
- Reduces overall energy costs.
- Shortens product development cycles.
- Accelerates time-to-market.
- Product feasibility analysis & project management services available.
Key highlights of FluidForming
A better, faster, smarter approach to metal forming.
Flawless Surface Quality
Because of FluidForming’s high forming pressures and bladder-free technology, surface quality is not compromised by the tools or bladders used in legacy metal forming systems. With FluidForming, water comes in contact with just one side of the metal surface, which makes it the only metal forming process that can be used with pre-painted or pre-finished materials.
Unlimited Design Opportunities
FluidForming enables product designers to innovate freely and create highly integrated designs with metal. FluidForming can easily metalform parts with undercuts, organic shapes, or complex geometrical surfaces. Plus, thanks to FluidForming’s accuracy and repeatability, trademarks, brands, and logos can all be easily incorporated into the design of each part.
Improved Product Performance
Many manufacturers turn to FluidForming to improve performance. Parts that were once cast from heavy metals can now be FluidFormed from lightweight metal alloys. Poorly performing plastics can also be replaced with lightweight and affordable FluidFormed metal components.
Rapid Prototyping
FluidForming’s revolutionary approach to hydroforming enables companies to benefit from vastly reduced lead times and tooling costs. With FluidForming, 3D print tooling can be integrated, making it possible to move from CAD to production in days, rather than months! FluidForming is ideal for product development, prototyping, and low-volume production.
Highly Iterative Process
Thanks to low tooling costs and 3D-printed tool compatibility, FluidForming is a highly iterative process, which allows for improvements to existing designs. FluidForming Americas offers Finite Element Analysis (FEA), which allows for the evaluation of part design prior to tool build. Engineers also have the opportunity to integrate multiple parts to form organically shaped surfaces and can even iterate within the same tool, producing multiple parts in the same tool set up.
Unsurpassed Accuracy & Repeatability
With a 99.996% first pass yield success rate, FluidForming offers unprecedented metal forming quality, accuracy, and repeatability. Manufacturers can rely on FluidForming to produce the highest-quality metalformed components. FluidForming’s high forming pressures result in minimal — or none whatsoever — warping or springback. And no springback means no post-forming fixturing!