Hydro-forming Process of Automotive Rear Sub-frame by Computer Simulation(CAE)

Abstract

The hydroforming technology has been spreaded dramatically in automotive industry last 10 years. Itmay 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 springback, improved strength and durability and design flexibility. In this study, the whole process of rear sub-frame parts development by tube hydroforming using steel material having tensile strength of 440 ㎫ grade is presented. At the part design stage, it requires feasibility study and process design aided by CAE (Computer Aided Design) to confirm hydroformability in details. Effects of parameters such as internal pressure, axial feeding and geometry shape in automotive rear sub-frame by hydroforming process were carefully investigated. Overall possibility of hydroformable sub-frame parts could be examined by cross sectional analyses. Moreover, it is essential to ensure the formability of tube material on every forming step such as pre-bending, preforming and hydroforming. In addition, all the components of prototyping tool are designed and interference with press is examined from the point of geometry and thinning.