Hydroforming is a material forming technology for metal sheets and tubes, similar to stamping, but where the punch or die is replaced by the action of a high-pressure fluid.

By distributing material elongation more evenly across the surfaces to be formed, this process pushes the limits of traditional stamping and allows for full utilization of the material’s stretch capabilities without the risk of tearing.

As a cold forming process, hydroforming also helps preserve the material’s internal structure, since transformation takes place at room temperature.

This technology is particularly well suited for creating rotationally symmetrical shapes with undercuts that cannot be achieved using conventional stamping methods.

The required pressure level depends on the desired bending radius, material thickness, yield strength, and its elongation capacity. Pressures can range from just a few bar for thin, gently curved parts to several thousand bar for calibration or necking operations on thicker materials.

Hydroforming is compatible with all stretchable metal sheets, from a few tenths of a millimeter to several millimeters thick, including steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, brass, and titanium.