Hydro-Forming Process Design of Automotive Sub-Frame Parts by Using CAE
Recently, the use of tubes in the manufacturing of the automobile parts has increased and therefore many automotive manufactures have tried to use hydro-forming technology. The hydro-forming technology may cause many advantages to automotive applications in terms of better structural integrity of the parts, lower cost from fewer part count, material saving, weight reduction, lower spring-back, improved strength and durability and design flexibility. In this study, the whole process of sub-frame parts development by tube hydro-forming using steel material is presented. At the part design stage, it requires feasibility study and process design aided by CAE (computer aided design) to confirm hydro-formability in details. Overall possibility of hydro-formable sub-frame parts could be examined by cross sectional analyses. All the components of prototyping tools are designed and interference with press is examined from the point of geometry and thinning.