|
|
|
Metal forming
One part of the core business of ThyssenKrupp Drauz Nothelfer is the manufacture of tools & dies. Around 820 employees are responsible for the manufacture of tooling sets for series production of medium and large body components and hydro-forming components. As a specialist for outer panels, the supreme discipline in automotive manufacture, ThyssenKrupp Drauz Nothelfer is able to produce high-quality sheet-metal forming tools for body components of steel and aluminium materials and other high- and ultra-high-strength materials weighing up to 60 tonnes.
IIn addition to conventional forming technology, ThyssenKrupp Drauz Nothelfer is also a leader in the field of hydro-forming, the high-pressure forming of sheet-metal, tubes and profiles using fluid media.
The scope of services in the area of forming technology ranges from component development to simultaneous engineering and series production up to matching / adjustment of individual components and complete o.k. car body. Our Heilbronn location also operates a press shop for the series production of hydro-forming components.
Tooling services
Method
- Feasibility studies, draw die development, simulation of all forming and cutting operations, method planning
Design
- Issue of flow charts, development of strip schemes, design using all common CAD systems, modern quality-orientated problem-solving processes
Tooling manufacture
- Sheet-metal forming tools for steel and aluminium materials, high- and ultra-high-strength materials, assembly areas of over 10,000 m2 and 14 hydraulic tryout presses with a pressing force of up to 2,500 tonnes
- Tooling sets for complete vehicle assemblies, component packages with internal and external handling
- Mechanical manufacture with focus on major mechanics / high-speed milling
- Matching of assembly groups (doors, bonnets, tailgates/hatchbacks, floor units etc.) together with corresponding significant measuring and tolerance concepts.
Hydro-forming services
Manufacturing processes
- Internal high-pressure forming (IHF) of hollow profiles: forming is carried out by the specific pressurisation of the workpiece.
- Hydro-mechanical sheet forming: with the aid of hydro-mechanical deep-drawing, components with complex geometries can be produced in a single forming step.
- Internal high-pressure forming of double sheets in a single forming step with lowest possible equipment utilisation
Technologies
- Internal high-pressure forming
- Hydro-mechanical sheet forming
- CNC bending with or without mandrel/stretch bending
- Bending process for the realisation of very small bend radii developed in-house
- Finishing either mechanically or by laser
Engineering:
- Finite element method (FEM) for simulation of tooling and forming processes
- CAD systems
- Expert system/ hydro-forming database
Manufacture:
- IHF – press shop for prototypes and series production
|
|
|
