If your manufacturing process requires custom metal parts, you’re probably familiar with CNC machining, 3D printing, and traditional metal stamping, but have you explored the time and cost savings of sheet metal hydroforming? Thanks to the unique properties of the hydroforming machine, you can reduce tooling costs time and time again, which adds up whether you are creating prototypes, finished products, or replacement components.
- Shape A Variety Of Materials With Little To No Wear
- You Only Need One Tool, Punch, Or Male Die
- 50% Up Front Savings, More Long Term
- Lower Development Costs When Prototyping
Save Money On Custom Metal Parts
Imagine shaping steel, aluminum, brass, copper, and a variety of high-strength alloys without having to constantly replace your tooling. Because metal hydroforming, even deep draw hydroforming, only exposes your dies or punches to hydraulic pressure through a rubber diaphragm, you don’t get the regular wear and tear of metal on metal.
Your custom parts are also often only put through one press cycle, further reducing wear. You only need half the tooling, and you can use it much, much longer.
Increase Your Options & Versatility
Because this process involves the application of uniform pressure, punches and dies for a hydroforming machine can be made from a variety of materials. You can send us your existing tooling or work with our in-house development team to explore available materials for both your dies and your custom parts.
Cut Tooling Labor & Material Costs
Since hydroforming sheet metal only involves the male part of your tooling, you save upfront on what needs to be developed. This same punch can also be used with thinner sheet metals to create high-quality, little-to-no-finish-needed custom parts that would require higher thicknesses and multiple cycles in other metal forming processes.
So, you save both on punch creation and on parts manufacturing.
Hydroform Tooling Cuts Metal Parts Development Costs
Custom parts development can be both the most exciting time and the most expensive. That all changes with hydroforming. You don’t have to develop and troubleshoot a matched pair of dies every time you want to change materials or material thicknesses. Minor changes to prototypes don’t have to eat into your development budget anymore.
Even if you need new tooling for your metal parts, you only need to tweak and produce the one un-mated punch. That’s half the savings.
Cut Custom Parts Development Time
Hydroforming’s use of un-mated tooling also translates to quicker setup and changeover times during metal parts manufacturing. In industries where time means money, startups and established manufacturers alike appreciate the time savings.
Reduce Manufacturing Waste
You also end up with less useless scrap. The precision of hydroforming mixed with the use of the one tool means you have less lost in waste at the end of each production run – less surplus tooling.
Need Custom Metal Parts? Save On Tooling Costs!
Less tools that last longer? You’ve got it. Contact us at Stuecklen Manufacturing Company to learn about metal hydroforming and how this sophisticated metal shaping process can reduce your tooling costs.
