verformen

Verformen is a German verb meaning to deform or reshape a material through mechanical action, typically resulting in a permanent change in form due to plastic deformation. It is used in engineering, materials science, and manufacturing to describe processes that alter geometry by bending, drawing, stamping, or rolling. The related noun Verformung denotes the deformation itself. The term is closely related to Umformen, a broader concept of forming by deformation. In everyday language, verformen can also be used metaphorically for distortion of non-physical things, though such usage is less common in technical writing.

In technical contexts, verformen occurs when a material yields under stress beyond its elastic limit, producing a plastische Verformung. The distinction between elastische Verformung (reversible) and plastische Verformung (permanent) is common. Typical forming processes include bending, deep drawing, extrusion, rolling, and stamping, all of which involve plastic deformation to create a new geometry. The result is a verformte Komponente or Struktur.

Grammatically, verformen is an ordinary verb; the past participle is verformt and it forms passive constructions, as in Das Material wird verformt.