Impression Technologies launches new white paper on its HFQ® Technology
Impression Technologies, the global leader in aluminium lightweighting, has released a new white paper introducing the benefits of its ground-breaking new technology: hot form quench (HFQ). The innovative hot forming process was developed to offer a step change in aluminium forming across multiple industries, including automotive and aerospace.
Executive summary
Environmental legislation to control emissions and reduce pollution continues to tighten across the globe. To meet these mandated challenges in the automotive sector, faith is increasingly being put in the use of battery electric vehicles, hybrids and more efficient internal combustion engine vehicles.
A key concern for developers in all of these technologies is a simple one: the weight (mass) of each vehicle contributes to the amount of energy needed to move it. Therefore, the race is on to reduce the weight of every type of vehicle and increase their efficiency, leading to reduced emissions, increased range and improved performance. ‘Lightweighting’, as it has come to be known, has never been more important for designers and manufacturers. This has, in turn, led to a sustained increase in the use of aluminium as the material of choice when manufacturing components, or even entire vehicle structures.
The use of aluminium to keep weight down is nothing new, but industry is on a constant mission to improve its structural strength, integrity, consistency, durability, safety and reduce cost. Moreover, manufacturers are always looking to make the material easier to work with, meaning improved, lower cost production processes that can use standard widely available alloys are a major focus of research. Any new process must balance all of these factors and operate increasingly efficiently, as well as affording a greater range of possibilities to a designer’s imagination.
At Impression Technologies Ltd., we have developed and patented a truly innovative hot forming technology process and matching simulation capability which meets all of these challenges and offers a step-change in lightweighting potential, to automotive, aerospace, rail, industrial and many other sectors.
Our pioneering, unique and easy to adopt manufacturing process and forming simulation package, ‘Hot Form Quench’ (HFQÒT Technology), sets a new international standard. This is the leading high speed process in the world that allows automotive OEMsto form deep-drawn and complex shapes from high and ultra-high strength aluminium, replacing the use of steel or low strength cold formed aluminium grades. Our process is rapid and meets the cycle times required for low-cost, high-volume manufacturing.
In this white paper, we will examine how the HFQÒ Technology works and how participating in the HFQÒ Technology revolution can simplify vehicle design and boost production efficiency while also raising standards and driving the technological development of the lightweight vehicles of tomorrow.
We will also show how our experienced team of designers and process engineers are, right now, enabling automotive manufacturing businesses to deploy HFQÒ Technology from the design phase, through to prototyping and manufacture using high-strength aluminium.
HFQÒ Technology is here, making a difference, today.
Jonathan Watkins, CEO
Impression Technologies Ltd. (HFQÒ Technology)
To read more, download the white paper here
