I used to hydroform a lot of pipes.
It's easy if you follow these 2 steps. Ok, 3 steps
Don't form the pipe as 1 unit. Header to middle of diffuser as 1 piece, rest of diffuser to stinger as the rest. If you have a plane break use it to your advantage now. Mark plane break and or all your sections while laying out flat templates.
2) while under pressure, in stages of filling. .. beat the shit out of wrinkles with a steel hammer. When done it will look like a stamping. Can't even tell it was hydroformed. I once sent a hydroformed pipe to get stampings made. They called me up and said he couldn't make dies for me. I said why? He informed me they wouldn't copy other pipe builders stampings. I lol'ed told him it was hydroformed!
3) roll edges before welding seems
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