Design Furniture – Hydroformed Chair Leg

Hydroforming of Tubes and Sheet Metal in the Furniture Sector

The Design and Contract furniture sector, with its constant aesthetic and technological evolution, presents a continuous challenge for designers and industrial engineers.

International design trends have long favoured light, airy, and minimalist forms, pushing many companies and designers to explore new production solutions. One of these is hydroforming of tube and sheet metal.

Customer’s Requirement

In this case, the customer approached Inoxveneta in search of a manufacturing solution for a slim-profile chair leg, after several unsuccessful attempts using wood and cast aluminium. Traditional methods had failed to deliver the required mechanical strength under load.

The Solution: Hydroformed Leg

Inoxveneta proposed stainless-steel hydroforming, successfully addressing all challenges with only minor adjustments to the design, and delivering a leg that met all key success factors:

unique design with ultra-slim shapes
maximum mechanical strength (validated through certified testing)
nearly 1 kg weight reduction per chair compared to aluminium casting (weight being a crucial factor in design)
simplified construction
option for veneering to achieve a wood-like appearance
option for high-gloss finish
possibility to produce legs of different lengths without altering the tooling
reduced production cost
high and flexible production capacity

The new collection of armchairs and sofas featuring hydroformed legs was an immediate success at its debut at the Salone del Mobile in Milan. The legs are now regularly manufactured at Inoxveneta’s hydroforming lines in Vittorio Veneto.