Stability through Flexibility - A new Way of Processing Sheet Metal

Since the development of sheet metal, it has been continually under pressure; pressed into matrices under huge forces, stamped and embossed. As an industrial material it must achieve the highest standards of quality and provide maximum stability in combination with malleability and flexibility. At present the tactile properties of sheet metal, however, are not being discussed, although the material tolerates a huge variety of different manufacturing and finishing processes – it is now even possible to “aerate” it. This article discusses various innovative industrial production techniques which have been examined in detail over a period of years by Prof. Dr. Ludger Hovestadt at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.