ICYMI: Pressing Forward With the FormBalancer
Regular readers of our blog already know that the FluidForming FormBalancer represents the future of sustainable metal forming. Our signature 4-in-1 presses offer greater accuracy, lower tooling costs, and greater flexibility than legacy models, and operate with less environmental impact.
But in case you haven’t been following along, or even if this is your first introduction to FluidForming, here’s a round-up of useful information to introduce you to the FormBalancer and our sustainable manufacturing practices.
History of Hydroforming
The FormBalancer’s roots date back to the Cincinnati Hydroforming process in the 1950s. In this post, we trace hydroforming’s development as a revolutionary improvement over die casting, which allowed manufacturers to produce lighter and more structurally sound components. In another post, we show how the FluidForming process offers better accuracy, surface quality, and structural integrity than its predecessors.
A Four-in-one Approach
While the FluidForming process represents a leap forward in accuracy and sustainability, the FormBalancer hydroforming press has the ability to perform a range of metalforming functions.
Among the benefits of owning a FormBalancer are its flexibility: it’s the only metal forming machine on the market that can deliver bladderless sheet metal forming, deep draw hydroforming, and fluid cell hydroforming — and when you need legacy bladder-based or hydraulic methods, you can configure the FormBalancer to use a bladder.
Sustainable Metal Forming
Beyond its next-level capabilities, the FormBalancer is a safer, greener, more sustainable option for parts production. Considerably less energy-intensive than die casting, FluidForming also uses recycled water as its forming force rather than hydraulic fluid. And a 480V FormBalancer press draws just 90-200 kW of power, reducing energy costs and consumption!
Green Manufacturing Solutions Across Sectors & Industries
FluidForming’s environmentally-friendly manufacturing process produces solutions across a variety of sectors. To see the ways that the FormBalancer can help your shop serve a range of industries, look at our posts and case studies about FluidForming’s eco-friendly applications in the automotive, appliance, and home goods sectors.
Looking for a Hydroforming Machine Replacement? Or a Hydroforming Press Upgrade?
If you own a Cincinnati press manufactured between 1930 and 1960, like a lot of metal forming shops, you may be seeing increasing maintenance bills and a decreasing stock of parts available for repair.
Replacing a major piece of equipment is a major investment, but the FormBalancer gives you all the capacity of a Cincinnati press with greater flexibility and sustainability. Multiple machine and table sizes ranging from 800mm x 800mm to 1,500 mm x 2,000 mm allow for flexible floor placement. And the FormBalancer may qualify for the R&D Tax Credit that’s available for companies adopting new processes, like FluidForming metal forming. It might be time to look for a replacement—or an upgrade.
With the FormBalancer, FluidForming Americas takes a giant step forward in precision metalforming. To learn more about the FormBalancer’s capabilities and benefits, contact FluidForming Americas at (800) 497-3545 or email us at info@ffamericas.com.
FluidForming Americas, Inc. is a member of the Precision Metal Forming Association and is AS9100 Rev D, ISO 9001:2015 certified. ITAR registered.