Dr. Ing. H.c. F. Porsche Aktiengesellschaft

Porsche Engineering Services

Ulsab Trust

Rolf Heyll

Robert Koehr

Ulrich Weissert

Sigfried Walter

Marco Cercone

Gerhard Koenig

John Catterall

Ross Winslow

Felix Kybart

Okan Goenueldinc

Andrew Wolf

Andy Wolf

John Krumbach

A process for the manufacture of a large area sheet metal part, in particular a body component for a vehicle, from a flat blank, provides that one sided pressurization with an active medium in a forming tool gives the flat blank a prestretched preform, and that then the preform, removed from the forming tool, is formed into the final shape in a separate deep drawing tool.

Process for manufacturing large area sheet metal parts, in particular a body component for a vehicle

A vehicle side door or hatchback structure incorporates at least one hydroformed component. In one configuration, a window frame, a door frame and a reinforcement member are press-fit together by pressurized fluid during a hydroforming process to join the frames and the reinforcement member together. In another configuration, a vehicle hatchback frame subassembly includes a one-piece hydroformed window frame with a central portion disposed between opposing end portions. Inner and outer panels are attached to each other and secured to the opposing end portions of the window frame. In yet another configuration, a vehicle door and window frame subassembly includes a hydroformed one-piece first door frame, a roll formed second door frame and a reinforcement member secured to the tubular one-piece first door frame. An outer front panel is attached to the reinforcement member by at least one mirror bracket. In a modification of this configuration, a mirror bracket which additionally defines a door hinge element interconnects an end of the reinforcement member to an end of the tubular one-piece first door frame. In a further configuration, a frameless vehicle door subassembly includes a lower tubular member and an upper tubular member secured together at their ends by a pair of hydroformed members.

Vehicle door structures incorporating hydroformed elements and processes

Method and system for designing and producing a lightweight automobile or vehicle body. Structural performance targets are selected, a beam model analysis is conducted, and a body-in-white design is developed. A shell model is created and analyzed and material gauges and manufacturing processes for the body components are selected. A structural analysis is conducted to determine whether the shell model meets the selected structural performance targets. A crash model is created, analyzed, and modified until satisfactory crash requirements are met. A final structural analysis is conducted to determine whether the shell model meets the selected structural performance targets.

Designing and producing lightweight automobile bodies

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Renningen, Germany

Rolf Heyll