Large aerospace part formed using a deep draw sheet hydroforming press

St. Louis, MO – Beckwood Press Company, a leading manufacturer of hydraulic presses and the Triform line of specialty forming equipment, recently built and installed a Triform deep draw sheet hydroforming press for an automotive parts manufacturer specializing in rapid prototyping. The model 25-10-12DD features a 25”-diameter forming area, 10,000 PSI of forming pressure and a 12” depth-of-draw. This is the second Triform deep draw press for this company; the first was a model 16-10-7DD.

This auto parts manufacturer supplies a variety of automobile, off-road, and tractor OEMs with parts including exhausts, heat shields, and other low-volume and prototype items. Since their business relies on fast turnaround times, they have always prided themselves on using the latest manufacturing technologies. Due to the time and budgetary limitations of the mated die sets required within traditional presses, they began searching for alternatives. The flexible diaphragm in a sheet hydroforming press acts as a universal female die, eliminating the need for expensive matched tools. This fundamental shift in tooling requirements results in a lower cost-per-part and faster turnaround times.

Before hydroforming, this supplier was forming parts in multiple pieces and welding them together to make the finished part. With the new hydroforming equipment, those same complex assemblies can now be formed in one cycle, completely eliminating the secondary welding operation.

“We are proud to announce another adoption of Triform’s large-diameter deep draw technology,” said Beckwood President, Jeffrey Debus. “This was the second of three large deep draw installations in two months for Beckwood. Triform users can react quickly to their production needs, at a fraction of the cost when compared to those reliant on matched die sets.”

See how the deep draw hydroforming process works