Numerical simulation of hydroforming hollow crankshaft components

The hydroforming technology is widely used today in the mass production of light weight components for the industry. Hydroforming is a manufacturing process which involves the use of internal pressure and axial loads to reshape components in a specially designed die piece. The internal pressure and axial feeding are defined as a function of time, and usually referred to as loading paths. Finite element analysis has been proven to be a useful tool for hydroforming process analyses. Hydroforming process simulation greatly reduces the development time and prototyping cost. In this paper, an investigation is conducted how to control loading path and its effect on thickness distribution after hydro-forming crankshaft by using finite element simulation. Four different loading paths are utilized in simulating the forming process of crankshaft with hydroforming and the results of different loading paths are presented. It shows that the hydroforming is dependent on the appropriate loading path. It exists the zone of hydroforming process window can be confirmed by using simulation method. Wrinkles occurs as the internal pressure < 20 MPa and bursting occurs as the the internal pressure > 32 MPa. Only this internal pressure locates between 20 MPa~30 MPa, an eligible crankshaft component can be manufactured.