Automotive Sheet Metal Engineering Consultancy
Engineering Confidence Before Metal Is Cut.
Curve Engineering Solutions helps OEMs, Tier 1 suppliers and toolmakers de-risk sheet metal manufacturing through world-class feasibility, simulation, die engineering and worldwide commissioning support.
Body Side — Feasibility Study · Surface Class A Deferred
Experience supporting programmes involving
CEEROur engineering experience includes supporting programmes involving leading global manufacturers. References to manufacturers reflect programme experience only and do not imply endorsement.
About Curve
Engineering Built From The Toolroom Up.
Steve Hackett began as an apprentice toolmaker in 1991 and progressed through engineering management and technical leadership before founding Curve Engineering Solutions. Today he leads a full team of simulation engineers, process planners, die designers and commissioning toolmakers — built on one philosophy: production is king.
Unlike many consultancies, the Curve team understands the entire manufacturing journey — because we have worked in every part of it:
- Toolroom
- Press Shop
- Simulation
- Process Planning
- Die Design
- Commissioning
- Production Launch
“A simulation is only as good as the toolroom judgement behind it. We’ve spent thirty years earning that judgement — and we’ve built a team that carries it into every programme.”
1991
Apprentice Toolmaker
Steve begins a four-year indentured apprenticeship. Surface plates, die spotting, hand finishing. The fundamentals — learned properly.
1999–2017
Engineering Manager & Technical Specialist
Leading toolroom and press shop engineering teams, then specialising in forming simulation, die face development and springback compensation across OEM and Tier 1 programmes.
2017
Curve Engineering Solutions Founded
Curve Engineering founded to give programmes direct access to that experience — building a team around the same toolroom-first values.
2018
342-Part Underbody Programme — 6 Weeks
Full underbody tender for Gestamp US: feasibility, blank optimisation and process for 342 parts, delivered in six weeks. Simulation work begins across Gestamp North America.
2019–2021
OEM Direct — Toyota, GM, EV Programmes
Full-body stamping feasibility for two EV start-ups. Complete die machining surface packages delivered direct to Toyota and GM. Simulation support extended to six further Gestamp NA plants.
2022–2023
Commissioning & Multi-Programme Feasibility
Die commissioning for Stellantis. Panel feasibility across three JLR programmes. Rivian's 250-part feasibility release completed three weeks early. Over five million kilos of material engineered out for Gestamp NA.
Today
A Full Engineering Team
Simulation engineers, process planners, die designers and commissioning toolmakers — with apprenticeship programmes in place to grow the next generation. Capacity for complete panel sets, in parallel.
From Flat Blank To Finished Panel
One Panel. Every Operation. Fully Engineered.
Blank
It starts as a flat, optimised blank. Material grade, thickness and outline set by simulation — not guesswork.
Draw
The draw die forms the panel over the punch. Binder forces, draw beads and addendum control material flow — with springback compensation built into the die face where required.
Trim
Addendum and offal are removed. Trim line development is validated virtually before a single trim steel is cut.
Pierce
Holes and apertures are pierced in sequence — positioned to survive springback and downstream assembly.
Flange
Flanging and restrike bring the panel to final geometry — cams and fillers working where the press can't.
Springback Compensation
Released from the die, the panel relaxes. We predict that springback in AutoForm and morph the die faces to compensate — so the part relaxes to nominal.
Finished Component
A dimensionally accurate panel, first time. That is what engineering confidence before metal is cut looks like.
What We Do
Complete Lifecycle Support.
Concept To Production.
Every service is delivered by a team of engineers who have built dies, run press shops and launched programmes — with the capacity to carry multiple packages in parallel, from single panels to complete vehicle programmes.
- 01
Pressed Part Feasibility
Early-stage manufacturability assessment of pressed components — before geometry is frozen and change is expensive.
- 02
AutoForm Simulation
Full-cycle forming simulation: formability, thinning, splits, wrinkles and surface defects, validated against real press behaviour.
- 03
Process Planning
Operation lineup, press allocation, cam and direct operations — a process plan the toolroom can actually build.
- 04
Die Face Development
Addendum, binder and bead development that controls material flow and gives the draw the best possible start.
- 05
Tool Design Support
Full CATIA or NX die design ready for make-to-print — covering tandem, tri-axis, crossbar, progression and hot stamp lines.
- 06
Springback Engineering
Prediction, compensation strategy and morphing — resolving dimensional issues in the die face, not on the shop floor.
- 07
Transfer Simulation
Full press-line kinematics: grippers, shuttle motion and interference checks for reliable stroke rates from day one.
- 08
Hot Stamp Simulation
Press-hardening process simulation — heating, forming, quenching and final part properties for ultra-high-strength structures.
- 09
Virtual Try-Out
Complete digital validation of the full operation lineup — machining-ready surfaces and spotting files, so physical try-out confirms rather than discovers.
- 10
Manufacturing Consultancy
Independent, experienced judgement on tooling, processes, suppliers and programmes — when you need a straight answer.
- 11
Worldwide Commissioning
On-site try-out, buy-off and ramp-up support at press shops and toolmakers across Europe, North America and Asia.
Programme Experience
Real Engineering.
Real Programmes.
Curve has supported programmes from concept through production — across body structures, closures and complete BIW, in both steel and aluminium. A 342-part underbody programme engineered in six weeks. A 250-part feasibility release delivered three weeks early. That is what team capacity looks like.
Body Side
Door Inner
Door Outer
Roof
Roof Module
Tailgate
Liftgate
Hood Inner
Hood Outer
Front Fender
Rear Fender
Tunnel
Longitudinals
Underbody
Wheel House
Front End Module
Rear End Module
Closures
BIW
Aluminium Structures
Steel Structures
From first feasibility loops on styling data, through process engineering and die development, to standing at the press during buy-off — the same engineering judgement, applied end to end, at volume.
Engineering Impact
Engineering Results That Matter.
Supporting more sustainable and efficient manufacturing. These are genuine engineering achievements — measured on real programmes, not projected.
0kg
Steel Saved
Material engineered out of programmes through blank optimisation, nesting and process refinement.
≈ 0tonnes
CO₂ Reduction
The downstream carbon consequence of that saved steel — real, measurable sustainability.
0hours
Annual Production Time Saved
Cycle time and uptime recovered through draw, trim and process optimisation on running lines.
Die Commissioning
Need Ramp-Up Support?
Tool Try-Out Support?
Production Buy-Off?
Curve Engineering provides worldwide commissioning support. A complete team of commissioning engineers — toolmakers by trade — is available globally, backed by our engineering department at every step. When a die set lands in a press shop on the other side of the world, we are the engineers who stand next to it until it runs.
- Tool Try-Out
- Line Buy-Off
- Production Ramp-Up
- Draw Optimisation
- Trim Optimisation
- Springback Resolution
- Process Improvements
- On-site Engineering
Recent commissioning projects
Stellantis — body side, door inners & outers, fender, roof · Gestamp — floor panels · Yesun — body side, door inners & outers · Silla — roof
AutoForm Expertise
Advanced Simulation Expertise.
AutoForm is our core simulation environment — used daily, at depth, across every stage of process engineering. The difference is what we bring to it: an instinct for how the model relates to the metal.
Formability
Thinning, strain paths and FLD margins assessed across the full panel — not just the obvious risk areas.
Splits & Wrinkles
Failure prediction correlated with what actually happens in the press, informed by decades of try-out experience.
Springback
Accurate prediction across draw, trim, flange and restrike — including twist and sidewall curl on complex structures.
Compensation
Die face compensation strategies that converge — morphed, validated and delivered as machinable geometry.
Transfer
Full line kinematics with gripper and shuttle motion, validating stroke rate before the line is committed.
Robustness
Stochastic analysis across material, lube and process scatter — so production works on Monday morning, not just in the model.
Blank Optimisation
Developed blanks, nesting and material utilisation — engineering cost and carbon out of every panel.
Hot Stamping
Thermo-mechanical simulation of press hardening: heating, forming, quenching and final microstructure.
Industry Recognition
Recognised By The People Who Build The Tools.
Steve's work has been featured by AutoForm Engineering and the trade press across two decades — first at Whiston Industries, one of the UK's finest toolmakers, and now at Curve Engineering.
Featured by AutoForm Engineering
8 Out of 9 Dies Made in a Single Tryout
AutoForm's FormingWorld features Steve Hackett on achieving 'One Time Tryout' — eight of nine aluminium dies through tryout with zero recuts. From Steve's time as Engineering & Technical Consultant at Whiston Industries — a first-class UK toolmaker.
FormingWorld.com — 2018 · at Whiston IndustriesReadPublished in ISMR
Sheet Metal Simulation in the Toolroom — ISMR Interview
International Sheet Metal Review interview on simulation-driven toolmaking and the 1/10/100 rule — £1 in simulation, £10 in design, £100 at the die. From Steve's time at Whiston Industries.
ISMR — January 2018 · at Whiston IndustriesReadFeatured by AutoForm Engineering
Quick Turnover of Blank Size Estimation & Scrap Rate Reduction
FormingWorld interviews Steve on how Curve Engineering became a Tier 1 supplier's first call for blank size estimation and scrap reduction.
FormingWorld.com — 2020 · Curve EngineeringReadFeatured by AutoForm Engineering
Streamlining Digital Engineering Processes
How Curve Engineering integrated AutoForm ProcessDesigner for CATIA to accelerate process design for stamping programmes.
FormingWorld.com — 2021 · Curve EngineeringReadTechnical Articles
Curve Engineering Technical Publications
Practical engineering write-ups on feasibility, springback compensation and simulation methodology — written from the press shop, not the marketing department.
LinkedIn — Engineering PublicationsReadSpeaking & Conferences
Conference Presentations
Future conference presentations on virtual try-out, die commissioning and sustainable stamping. Details announced here and on LinkedIn.
Coming soon
Why Curve
Not Theory.
Engineering.
The reasons clients come to Curve — and the reasons they come back.
Apprentice-Trained Engineering
Toolmaker-trained from 1991 — and running apprenticeship programmes today to grow the next generation the same way.
Practical Manufacturing Experience
We have run toolrooms and press shops. We know what a process plan has to survive in production.
AutoForm Specialists
Deep, daily expertise across formability, springback, compensation, transfer and hot stamping.
Worldwide Commissioning
Try-out and buy-off support delivered on-site in Europe, North America and Asia.
OEM & Tier 1 Programme Support
Trusted on programmes involving leading global manufacturers, from concept feasibility to SOP.
Rapid Engineering Response
A full team with genuine capacity — first-check feasibility answers in days, with multiple packages running in parallel.
Practical Solutions
Every recommendation is buildable, maintainable and provable at the press.
Testimonials
What Programme Teams Say.
Client testimonial to follow — placement reserved for an Engineering Director.
Engineering Director
OEM Programme
Client testimonial to follow — placement reserved for a Tooling Manager.
Tooling Manager
Tier 1 Supplier
Client testimonial to follow — placement reserved for a Programme Manager.
Programme Manager
Toolmaker
Contact
Let’s Solve Your Next Manufacturing Challenge.
Whether it’s a feasibility question on a single panel or a complete vehicle programme — you deal directly with Steve, backed by a full engineering team with the capacity to take it on.
Steve Hackett
Managing Director — Curve Engineering Solutions Ltd