Sumitomo Metal Industries Expands Hydroform Technology for Steel Sheet

Sumitomo Metal Industries is building up hydroform technology because the firm response the request for automotive lightning from automobile makers. This technology was made practicable for steel sheet as well as steel tube. The firm took hold the forming technique with high-tensile products which has the strength of 780 mega pascal and 980 mega pascal. The firm will aggressively appeal this technology to automobile makers or component makers by the strong point which the firm can design and manufacture workable component by using large hydroforming equipment, and will expand the applicable scope of hydroform technique due to the development of peripheral technology.Hydroform technology is that the steel products are filled up by one liquid matter and are formed in metallic mold by high pressure of one liquid matter. The technology can reduce the amount of used components or of welding process by integral molding. The steel product hardens and can increase stiffness. The firm expects the technology reduces the component weight by about 20-30%.Sumitomo Metals and Sumitomo Pipe & Tube introduced the first hydroform equipment in Japan in 1997, and started cooperative research & development with automobile makers. The firms’ steel tube made by hydroform technique was adopted by Nissan Motor in 1999 for the first time. Since then the adoption of the steel tube made by hydroform technique increased.The steel sheet made by hydroform can be reduced thick easily due to universal designing of cross-section shape. GM, American biggest car maker, adopted the hydro-formed steel sheet for body of model car in 2006. Sumitomo Metals expects the technology would be adopted by Japanese car makers. Sumitomo Metals already developed preproduction of suspension member.