An overview and evaluation of alternative forming processes for complex aluminium products

Many industries are facing new forces that cause upheaval in the way products are designed, engineered, produced and used. Consumer preferences in terms of personalization and customization, sustainability criteria and the availability of digital technology together create a new paradigm for integrated product and process development. This paper unfolds from this macro perspective and makes a trajectory towards how this view influence existing and emerging metal forming processes. Knowing that design spaces in many applications are compressed, we hypothesize that characteristics such as die cost, formability, dimensional accuracy, production volume, cycle time, change-over-time, and value stream synergies become ever more important in the future. This paper outlines opportunities and limitations of several alternative forming processes due to these characteristics, and provides advice on how to select an appropriate process in relation to problem at hand, and shortfalls on industrial maturity and applicability of the following processes, viz., single point incremental forming, hydroforming, stretch-bending, and press form hardening.