HIGH ENERGY RATE FORMING PROCESSES

Large amount of energy is provided for a short period of time Many metals deform more readily under extra fast application of load Used for making large sized parts out of most metals Parts are formed at a rapid rate therefore also called high velocity forming processes

Basic Elements
Inertia resistance to further velocity change- If one piece of material is to change its velocity by some amount, the force required to do so is inversely proportional to the time available to affect that change. Impact high pressures easily created- Very high pressures are created when two solid bodies impact with significant velocity. Changes in constitutive behaviour9- The fundamental constitutive behaviour (stress, strain, strain-rate relations)for most metals change qualitatively at strain rates above about .0001s-1. Above these strain rates, the apparent strain rate sensitivity of the material increases markedly.

 Four types
Explosive forming Electro hydraulic forming Electro magnetic forming Petro forge machining

Explosive forming
explosive charge is used explosives used are generally high explosive chemicals, gaseous mixtures, or propellants solid (TNT- trinitro toluene), liquid (Nitroglycerine), or Gaseous (oxygen and acetylene mixtures) used where high pressure is required production of automotive-related components produces one product at a time

Advantages of Explosion Forming

Maintains precise tolerances. Eliminates costly welds. Controls smoothness of contours. Reduces tooling costs. Less expensive alternative to super-plastic forming.

Characteristics
Very large sheets with relatively complex shapes, although usually axis symmetric. Low tooling costs, but high labor cost. Suitable for low-quantity production. Long cycle times.

Petro force forming

The Petro-Force principle, that is, the actuation of a hammer by the combustion of hydrocarbon fuels with air, can be used also for machines operating at a relatively low speed. It works on the basis of converting combustion energy into the kinetic energy of the moving masses, the die closing speed is lowered simply by increasing the magnitude of these.

Electro Hydraulic Forming

Electrohydraulic forming is a type of metal forming in which an electric arc discharge in liquid is used to convert electric energy to mechanical energy and change the shape of the workpiece. Electro hydraulic forming (EHF), also known as electro spark forming.

Operation
A bank of capacitors is first charged to a high voltage and then discharged across a gap between two electrodes Hollow workpiece filled with some suitable medium Shock waves are produced that travel radially in all directions They cause deformation where they meet the workpiece

Characteristics
Materials having low ductility or having critical impact velocity less than 30 m/s are generally not considered to be good candidate for EHF. All materials that can be formed by conventional forming processes can be formed by EHF also e.g. aluminum alloys, nickel alloys, stainless steels, titanium.

Advantages
EHF can form hollow shapes with much ease and at less cost compared to other forming techniques. EHF is more adaptable to automatic production compared to other high energy rate forming techniques. EHF can produce small to intermediate sized parts that don't have excessive energy requirements.

Disadvantages
Electrohydraulic forming has had very limited industrial usemostly in experimental facilities or in very low volume production. The main reasons for this have been the lack of advanced equipment capable of delivering the high-voltage discharge in a timely manner, the erosion of electrodes, die material requirements, need for process models, dealing with water as a transmitting medium (and attendant scaling issues), and the lack of economic drivers when energy prices are low.

Electromagnetic forming
The process is also called magnetic pulse forming and is mainly used for swaging type operations, such as fastening fittings on the ends of tubes and crimping terminal ends of cables. The work coils needed for different applications vary although the same power source may be used

Operation
A high charging voltage is supplied for a short time to a bank of capacitors connected in parallel. When the charging is complete, a high voltage switch triggers the stored electrical energy through the coil. A high intensity magnetic field is established which induces eddy currents into the conductive work piece, resulting in the establishment of another magnetic field. The forces produced by the two magnetic fields oppose each other with the consequence that there is a repelling force between the coil and the tubular work piece that causes permanent deformation of the work piece.

Applications
fabrication of hollow, non circular, or asymmetrical shapes from tubular stock. swaging to produce compression, tensile, and torque joints or sealed pressure joints and to apply compression bands or shrink rings for fastening components together stretch (internal) and shrink (external) flanges on ring and disc shaped work pieces

Disadvantages
Coil should be of strong material or they are destroyed All forming coils fail, expendable coils fail sooner than durable coils It is essential that proper safety precautions are observed by the production and maintenance personnel. Skilled operator required