Hydroforming offers new perspectives in lightweight design. In automotive production, tubular hydroforming opens a wide range of possibilities for designing lightweight and high-strength components (e.g., body-in-white structures, frames etc.).
At ANDRITZ Schuler Inc. in North America, our team of experts are happy to help you achieve all the advantages of the hydroforming process.
Hydroforming is one of ANDRITZ Schuler’s key technologies supporting lightweight vehicle designs. At our North American headquarter, we produce series production tubular hydroforming parts and develop new dies for in-house production and OEM/Tier supplier base use. ANDRITZ Schuler’s engineers offer extensive knowledge in various materials – including aluminum and dual-phase steels.
Hydroforming dies meet extreme demands, for which tool developers face multiple challenges. Forming pressures of up to 43,500 PSI, and the resulting forces, can lead to complex elastic stresses in the dies. At the same time, the design must be optimized for both weight and cost. At ANDRITZ Schuler, our team can guide you through solutions for all of these challenges.
ANDRITZ Schuler develops and produces hydroforming tooling—from prototype testing to series production dies. The range of tooling extends from components in appliances and off-road vehicles to highly advanced systems for the processing of automotive components with ultra-high-strength steel.
The tooling is designed based on efficient part production processes—and can be tested on in-house presses or economically upgraded into full-scale operation. ANDRITZ Schuler can also design dies flexible enough to be used in equipment all over the world—which helps to standardize and reduce costs.
We provide both prototype and production dies as part of our series production, and we also supply dies to other hydroformers. While we do manufacture prototype tools, we recommend starting with an upgradeable production die for better quality parts throughout the early build phases—this also lowers overall program tooling costs. Our experience can streamline the development process, reduce the number of value-add processes, and meet demanding timelines.
We offer in-house production for Tiers 1-3. Our capabilities range from small to large volume series production to production support for other hydroformers who have run out of available capacity.
Our production site can support all bottlenecks common to hydroforming production—this includes producing small batches and prototypes.
At ANDRITZ Schuler North America, our plant utilizes two large presses to produce hydroforming tubes specific to the automotive, agriculture, construction, and recreational markets. As a full-service provider, we can assist in the development of hydroformed tubes or manufacture an already developed product. The in-house processes include bending, preforming, hydroforming, laser cutting, and minor assembling as needed.
Hydroformed tubes are often safety-relevant, complex components. ANDRITZ Schuler has unrivaled expertise in the area of hydroforming and can assist with the production or support of hydroforming processes—no matter what materials are required.
The demand for lightweight components has increased—especially within the automotive industry. Due to this, aluminum has become essential to every car chassis. We are aware of the challenges that occur with aluminum hydroforming and can ensure high quality in producing aluminum tubes.
Our strength lies in our strong engineering capabilities. ANDRITZ Schuler is one of the few hydroformers with a dedicated engineer focused solely on FEA analysis and upfront production processes. ANDRITZ Schuler’s goal is to ensure your tube can be manufactured as efficiently as possible. Our team of experts has great knowledge in advanced high-strength steels, dual-phase steels, and aluminum.
