Aluminum hot forming (HFQ) is still a relatively new process that opens up new solutions for lightweight construction by enabling the complex forming of high-strength aluminum. Just over a year ago, the Fischer Group in Achern-Fautenbach put the world's first large-scale production line for aluminum hot forming into operation, significantly expanding the Group's product portfolio once again. With the aluminum hotforming technology, Fischer is now not only opening up new business areas in addition to the tube business, but also new areas of application, for example structural components for vehicle and aircraft construction or rail transport.

"As a fully automated production cell for solution annealing and forming, the aluminum hot forming line consists of a hydraulic press with integrated energy recovery, a fully automated furnace system for solution annealing and final artificial aging, as well as 3D laser cutting systems for final component trimming," explains Marc Schweizer from Business Development. An integrated track-and-trace system also guarantees the seamless tracking of every component throughout the entire production process, from the raw material to the end product - an important ambassador for quality assurance. Delivered as a coil in the F-temper state, the aluminum passes through several process stages as a blank to finally reach the defined final state T6. The blanks are heat-treated in a solution annealing furnace at 450 to 550 degrees Celsius in order to dissolve the alloy components. A speed feeder system then transports the heated sheets into a hydraulic press, where they are formed and quenched in the tool via cooling. "The final material properties are then set in several ageing ovens at up to 200 degrees Celsius," explains Schweizer. "Finally, two laser cutting systems - and soon a cutting press, which promises shorter cycle times - bring the parts to their final contour."

Characteristics of the development process

If Fischer receives an order for the production of new components, the customer first provides the CAD data, including the desired properties such as strength or weight. In the next step, Fischer assesses the feasibility of the design and recommends a material. "This involves tool design with Autoform-Die-Designer and validation of feasibility with the forming simulation, which also determines data for the crash calculation and the joining concept," explains Thorsten Junge, Business Development at Fischer. "Because a component can never actually be formed directly, it is usually iterated in several cycles. Integrating and linking all autoform modules in one application makes this very efficient." Once the component geometry has been determined, the tool design and the production concept are defined using the same iterative working method with Autoform. All of this leads to the creation of a business case.

Validate with Autoform Thermo plug-in

The decisive component in Fischer's development process is therefore the Autoform molding solver together with the Autoform Thermo plug-in. By taking thermal effects into account, the plug-in significantly increases the accuracy of the simulation. This provides Fischer with a powerful tool for planning the production method and evaluating and finalizing the feasibility of components in terms of thinning, wrinkling and cycle times. The crux of the matter is to model the entire process precisely. "Not only the temperature curve and heat transfer to the environment and the tool must be taken into account, but also the temperature and strain rate-dependent material behavior as well as the dependence of the tribological system on pressure, temperature and sliding speed," says Junge.