Skip Navigation

Flow-forming: Hot-rolled steels from thyssenkrupp Steel show their full potential under pressure

thyssenkrupp Steel has unique expertise in flow-forming and offers its customers the right materials portfolio for innovative applications.

After extensive research work, thyssenkrupp Steel's application technology has reached an important milestone: Customers can now be advised even more comprehensively on materials and innovative applications.

As part of the series of tests started in 2016, the experts from thyssenkrupp Steel continuously determined the forming capacity and hardening potential of various hot-rolled steels during flow-forming at a test facility in Duisburg. The result: “The materials from thyssenkrupp Steel occupy pole position among flow-forming steels,” explains Thomas Flöth, Senior Engineer in the Application Technology department. “The extensive tests have shown that the selection of suitable materials and flow-forming parameters for certain applications opens up new possibilities for saving on heat treatments,” continues Flöth. “There are also components where flow-forming can save up to 30 percent in weight - this is particularly important in view of the requirements of electromobility.” The higher-strength hot-rolled strip steels from the established product families perform® and perdur® as well as the hardenable boron steels TBL and precidur® HBL from thyssenkrupp Steel achieved particularly good results on the test line.

thyssenkrupp Steel with a unique selling point in flow-forming

Flow-forming

In the future, flow-forming as an innovative process in combination with the right material can make a significant contribution to the sustainable production of geometrically demanding components in the automotive and industrial sectors (see info box). Due to the low tool costs, the very high degree of forming and the possibility of producing even complex geometries with undercuts, flow-forming is also a good alternative to traditional deep drawing or forging. The know-how gained through intensive research in recent years will give Duisburg's application technology a unique selling point in the future when it comes to material differentiation for flow-forming. Like no other supplier in the European steel industry, Thomas Flöth's team is able to provide its customers with comprehensive advice and support individual product development with new processes and grades.

Flow-forming: the process and its advantages

Flow-forming is a process in which a material is formed into a new shape primarily through pressure - in the case of thyssenkrupp Steel, to produce rotationally symmetrical components in various thicknesses and complex geometries from steel. Typical applications in the automotive industry include wheels and powertrain components. During flow-forming, a pre-product made from hot strip, for example a sheet metal blank, is picked up by a tool and set in rotation. As a result, the rotating piece is loaded with rollers at certain points in such a way that it is applied to the inner shape of the tool and flows in an axial direction. In this way, a short, thick-walled tube is transformed into a long, thin component with an improved surface. It is also more resilient, lasts longer and can be produced with a high degree of precision.

For more information on the flow-forming process and suitable materials, please contact our customer service team directly.

Contact

thyssenkrupp Steel Europe AG

Kaiser-Wilhelm-Strasse 100

47166 Duisburg, Germany

+49 (0)203 52-0

To the top