What role does cold forming play as a forming technology in e-mobility?
It is not only the transformation of the automotive industry towards electromobility with its particular emphasis on lightweight construction that justifies the special position of forming technology in modern vehicle production; the environmental balance sheet is also becoming an increasingly important sales factor. But can cold forming score points here?
What is forming technology?
In forming technology, there are processes such as rolling, bending, deep drawing, cold forming, die forging and open die forging. Gemein ist allen Verfahren die Definition: beim Umformen wird weder Material von den Rohteilen entfernt noch hinzugefügt.
For those interested, DIN 8582 provides a comprehensive overview of all forming processes. In this article, however, we will focus on cold forming and explore its significance for e-mobility.
Nicolas Heck
Veröffentlicht
E-mobility requirements
Even before e-mobility became widespread, reducing vehicle weight was a key concern for car manufacturers. Initially, the main aim was to increase the range of electric cars. However, this is no longer the only reason why vehicles are manufactured in lightweight construction.
Today, the focus is increasingly on the resource-conserving and sustainable production of vehicles and their components. The CO2 and environmental balance of production is becoming an increasingly relevant factor in the purchasing decision for end consumer products. When it comes to the relevant points, forming is convincing in several ways.
Saving resources with forming technology?
Particularly in comparison to machining processes, it is clear that forming technology processes generate less waste and are therefore more resource-efficient, as no material is removed. Waste avoidance is also preferable to recycling in view of the fact that raw materials are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. In addition, cold forming often does not even require complex post-processing. Thanks to the tight dimensional tolerances of the process, the workpiece comes out of the machine in exactly the desired shape.
Cold forming also stands out positively from most other forming processes in terms of energy consumption, as it usually takes place at room temperature. It is therefore not necessary to heat the workpiece or semi-finished product before or during processing.
Lightweight components with high stability
Despite the increasing importance of the environmental balance, the desire for a lightweight design is still largely due to the desire to reduce weight in order to increase the range of the vehicles. Now it is no great difficulty to produce lighter parts using forming technology by making them hollow. But are these hollow components strong enough to withstand the stresses of road traffic?
This question can be clearly answered in the affirmative. The forces that act on the semi-finished products or workpieces during cold forming lead to a significant increase in strength. On the other hand, the material distribution can be designed to meet requirements and loads by reshaping.
Higher strength through forming
This hardening can be so strong that heat treatment following the production process may not be necessary. This further saves energy,CO2 and costs and has a positive impact on the environmental balance of the components.
When cold forming tubes, shafts or similar components, increased strength is an important prerequisite to ensure that these components are stable enough for use in motor vehicles despite their massive lightweight construction. Specifically, this involves the production of hollow shafts such as rotor shafts or drive shafts, which, despite being subjected to immense loads, are considerably lighter than clamped, cast or forged products.
Conclusion: The importance of forming technology in e-mobility
Forming technology is not the start of green lightweight construction, but it makes a significant contribution to further optimizing the manufacturing processes in e-mobility for environmental friendliness by avoiding waste and reducing energy consumption in the production of the components concerned.
Cold forming has a special role to play here, as it enables shafts and similar components to be produced hollow and with the required strength and yet in a lightweight design. In addition, cold forming requires less energy than comparable hot forming processes.
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