What’s the difference between metal forming vs. FluidForming? Metal forming is a manufacturing process that includes die stamping, forging, extrusion, rolling, metal spinning, sheet metalworking, and hydroforming. And yes, FluidForming.
So if FluidForming is a type of metal forming, what’s the main difference between traditional types of metal forming and FluidForming?
In a word: quality. FluidForming achieves a 99.996% accuracy and repeatability rate.
The legacy metal forming vs. FluidForming smackdown, FluidForming always comes out on top.
FluidForming is the new kid on the metal forming block
It may be the best metal forming process available to manufacturers, but FluidForming is the new kid on a very established block. And we all know that being the new kid ain’t always easy.
Sheet metal forming is one of the oldest and most established manufacturing processes in the world. It’s also one of the most important. From automotive manufacturing to medical equipment, metal forming contributes significantly to the manufacturing world and to the strength of our economy.
Still, until very recently, however, few advancements had been made to the process since the Industrial Revolution.
How FluidForming is changing metal forming
The FluidForming technology, which is a modern reinvention of hydroforming, was first patented in Germany and was developed to fill the market gap for higher quality, more accurate, faster, intrinsically repeatable, and affordable metal forming process.
What is FluidForming? This modern, bladder-free take on traditional hydroforming utilizes water at pressures up to 4,000 bar / 60,000 psi. That’s 4x higher than legacy hydroforming pressures can achieve.
As a result of higher forming pressures and its self-contained, blader-free technology, FluidForming and achieves a greater degree of detail, strength, and repeatability than any existing legacy method.
Springback and warping are also minimal. Finally, because water comes into contact with just one side of the metal surface, it’s the perfect metal forming process for pre-finished metals and high-tech alloys.
FluidForming was developed to address current trends in the metalworking industry such as rapid prototyping, precision metal forming, cost reduction, sustainability, and additive manufacturing. It was also designed to meet the increasing demand for highly accurate, precision-driven components.
Learn more about metal forming vs. FluidForming and find out if the FluidForming hydroforming technology is right for your next project. Contact FluidForming Americas today at (800) 497-3545 or email us at info@ffamericas.com.