Usually hydraulic hammers are used in the hot forming of forging parts. These require hydraulic oil, which needs to be changed regularly and is expensive to dispose of. Moreover, the dies are subject to a lot of wear, since the hammer almost always hits the forging part with maximum force. Hagen-based RUD-Schöttler GmbH has now presented a linear die-forging hammer that is powered electrically. Its steel cylinder is surrounded by coils and magnets, which enable precision control. The system saves up to 25% more energy than a hydraulic drive. The hammer can also be adjusted with an extreme accuracy to up to 5/100 mm, enabling it to hit the forging part with optimal force. This results in less waste and facilitates material savings of up to 10%.

For cold forming, automotive supplier Allgaier Sachsen GmbH has presented the Variotempo method, which can be used to manufacture highly complex multi-part components as single parts. This enables the production of high-strength steel sheets in a seven-step pressing process, without the need for any additional thermal energy. Such parts can usually only be produced with an additional energy-intensive hot forming process and from two separate semi-finished materials. According to Allgaier, the Variotempo method reduces the materials required by up to 40% and makes the parts up to 60% lighter, yet without losing any strength. Both methods are presented in a video on YouTube .