Impact of semi-finished part properties and process configuration on the final geometry of structural free-form bent profiles
Viktor Böhm, Lorenzo Scandola, Jeremias Tschannerl, Christina Sunderkötter, Alexander Harms, Dennis Lauterbach, Wolfram Volk
Abstract. Free-form bending represents an attractive process for the manufacturing of structural components with a rectangular cross-section for the automotive industry. Due to its kinematics-based principle realized through the relative motion of the bending head with respect to a fixed holder, the process allows a high design of freedom regarding the achievable geometries. This can be of particular advantage for the realization of a profile-intensive body in white for battery electric vehicles (BEVs). On the other hand, the robustness and the sensitivity of the process for high-strength steel rectangular profiles must be evaluated in order to guarantee the strict tolerances required, which are typical for automotive manufacturing. In this contribution, the variance of the final bending results depending on the semi-finished product properties and on the bending process parameters is investigated. First, simple 2D bends were carried out in different bending planes and the effects of the process and semi-finished product properties were investigated. In addition, a small-series of a prototype geometry for a prototype C-pillar is manufactured by varying the position of the weld seam, which illustrates how much influence the semi-finished product properties have on the actual bending result.
Keywords
Free-Form Bending, Profile-Intensive Design, Sensitivity Analysis
Published online 5/7/2025, 9 pages
Copyright © 2025 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Viktor Böhm, Lorenzo Scandola, Jeremias Tschannerl, Christina Sunderkötter, Alexander Harms, Dennis Lauterbach, Wolfram Volk, Impact of semi-finished part properties and process configuration on the final geometry of structural free-form bent profiles, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 54, pp 1703-1711, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903599-183
The article was published as article 183 of the book Material Forming
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] A. Ismail, D. Maier, S. Stebner, W. Volk, S. Münstermann, B. Lohmann (2021): A Structure for the Control of Geometry and Properties of a Freeform Bending Process. In: IFAC-PapersOnLine 54 (11), S. 115–120. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2021.10.060
[2] D. Maier, S. Stebner, A. Ismail, M. Dölz, B. Lohmann, S. Münstermann, W. Volk (2021): The influence of freeform bending process parameters on residual stresses for steel tubes. In: Advances in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering 2, S. 100047. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aime.2021.100047
[3] A.M. Vieira, F.J.G. Silva, R.D.S.G. Campilho, L.P. Ferreira, J.C. Sá, T. Pereira (2020): SMED methodology applied to the deep drawing process in the automotive industry. In: Procedia Manufacturing 51, S. 1416–1422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.promfg.2020.10.197
[4] B. Jian, (2011): Press Hardening – the Lightweight Technology for Making Cars with More Safety and Less CO 2 Emission. In: SAE Technical Paper. https://doi.org/10.4271/2011-28-0011
[5] K. Pramod, S. Marimuthu (2023): Advanced hydroforming process in automotive industry. In: International Conference on Minerals, Materials and Manufacturing Methods (ICMMMM). Coimbatore, India, 19 March 2022: AIP Publishing (AIP Conference Proceedings), S. 60004.
[6] K. Kumar Dama, V. Suresh Babu, R.N. Rao (2018): State of the Art on Constructional Concepts of Automotive Body Structures. In: Materials Today: Proceedings 5 (10), S. 20981–20986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2018.06.489
[7] L. Scandola, J. Tschannerl, D. Maier, M.K. Werner, C. Hartmann, W. Volk (2023): Impact of the process velocities on the quality of free-form bent parts. In: IOP Conf. Ser.: Mater. Sci. Eng. 1284 (1), S. 12061. https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/1284/1/012061
[8] C. Cheng, C. Pan, X. Bai, C. Liu, X. Guo (2022): Investigation on the influence of weld position on the deformation behavior of welded tube during free bending process. In: Int J Adv Manuf Technol 120 (3-4), S. 2201–2215. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-022-08893-y
[9] P. Gantner, H. Bauer, D.K. Harrison, A.K.M Silva (2005): Free-Bending—A new bending technique in the hydroforming process chain. In: Journal of Materials Processing Technology 167 (2-3), S. 302–308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2005.05.052
[10] L. Scandola, V. Böhm, D. Maier, W. Volk (2024): Virtual inline compensation by single point-tracking in free-form bending. In: Material Forming: ESAFORM 2024. Material Forming, 4/24/2024: Materials Research Forum LLC (Materials Research Proceedings), S. 2482–2491. https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644903131-273
