New Process Could Replace Stamping and Hydroforming
Tubular metal structures offer significant advantages in automobile design. Compared with conventional stamp-and-weld assemblies, tubular metal structures are stronger and use metal more efficiently. They reduce vehicle weight by 5 to 15 percent, and they cost 5 to 10 percent less. They perform better in crash tests, they have better vibration and noise characteristics, and they are more dimensionally stable.
The major drawback of tubular metal structures is that the technology for making them--called hydroforming--has high capital costs, is relatively slow, and imposes significant design restrictions.