
Webinar - The Quintus Flexform™ process for low volume production
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For decades, Quintus Technologies has supplied Flexform™ solutions to major automotive manufacturers worldwide, including Ford, Daimler-Benz, Volvo, BMW, Rover, GAZ, and Saab.
As with the aerospace industry, Flexform™ is used widely by automotive manufacturers for fast, low-cost prototyping, validating tools and parts, and saving valuable time in the new model development process.
And although auto making typically involves high volumes, there are segments of the industry where Flexform™ is the preferred method for production parts. These include limited edition specialty cars, buses, trucks, commercial vehicles, and farm/construction equipment.
Formed components include fenders, doors, hoods, roof and floor panels, pillars, support beams, and similar items. Flexform™ is considered economically viable for parts with production volumes up to some thousands of parts per year.
Read QUINTUS’ TECHNOLOGIES ARTICLE IN AMS JAN/FEB 2019:
From Aero to Auto
“One of the most flexible forming processes in the automotive industry, in the most literal sense of the term, is the Flexform technology from Swedish company Quintus Technologies, based in Västerås, around 100km west of the capital Stockholm. Instead of shaping sheet metal between two heavy machined steel dies, only one such hard die surface is employed with the other being replaced by a rubber diaphragm, which is then forced against the surface of the blank by hydraulic pressure.”
Quintus offers a full line of standard models of Flexform™ Presses with rectangular trays dimensions up to 1.8 x 3.6 m (71 x 142 in) and pressures from 800 bar (11,600 psi) to 1,400 bar (20,000 psi). The cycle time is normally one to three minutes, depending on press size, formed parts and selected pressure.
QFL presses are compact units with circular trays, designed for faster forming of smaller parts.
Cycles average about one minute, with maximum pressure of 800 bar (11,600 psi). These presses are commonly used for off-loading and back-up for larger rectangular tray presses and for rapid forming of smaller parts.
Quintus offers a line of standard deep-draw press models with forming area/diameter ranging from 560 mm / 22 inch to 1100 mm / 43.3 inch. Pressure ranges from 800 bar / 11,600 psi to 1,200 bar / 17,400 psi. The cycle time is depending on the tool size and the pressure level required, but normally range from some 30 seconds to two minutes.
The Flexcell™ concept minimizes the time for tooling changes and takes the time for new tool set-ups from hours to seconds. The concept substantially increases productivity, allowing fabrication of small production batches, when a wide variety of part shapes are required. The Flexcell™ concept also makes the handling of heavy tools easier, while taking away the manual feeding of parts, making this process safer and more efficient.
Front fender in 0.8 mm (0.03 in) mild steel formed in three steps over a Kirksite punch with fixed blank holder: (1) preforming with blank holding for stretching, intermediate trimming, (2) preforming, removal of filler pieces, and (3) final forming, including an undercut in the top area, to 800 bar (11,600 psi).
Prototype and development parts:
Flexform™ results in high quality, low-cost parts with short lead times.
✓ forming with one rigid low-cost tool half and a flexible rubber diaphragm
✓ high, uniform forming pressure for parts with close tolerances
✓ easy tool modifications and no matching of tool halves
✓ varying material thicknesses formed on the same tool
Low-volume and niche vehicle parts:
Flexform™ results in high quality, low-cost parts.
✓ forming with one rigid low-cost tool half and a flexible rubber diaphragm
✓ forming including undercuts, flanging and trimming with a single tool half
✓ easy tool modifications and no matching of tool halves
✓ prototype tool can also be used for production