ANALYSIS OF TUBE HYDROFORMING PROCESS WITH PROFILATED DIE USING FEM SIMULATION

Tube hydroforming (THF) has become an emerging technology for manufacturing complex parts and an indispensable manufacturing technique in recent years. Coordination of the internal pressurization and axial feeding curves is critical in the tube hydroforming process to generate successful parts without fracture or wrinkling failure. Using finite element analysis methods it has been demonstrated that hydroforming process parameters can be determined very efficiently. In the paper are presented some comparative results about the tube hydroforming process simulation of a symmetrical part, considering as the main parameter the presence or the absence of the axial feeding of the punches. The simulated results recommend the deformation with axial moving of the punches as the best method of manufacturing.