Experimental study on incremental sheet forming of magnesium alloy AZ31 with hot air heating

摘要

Products of tomorrow are characterized by environmental sustainability, individuality and economic feasibility. This trend also occurs in the field of sheet metal forming. Lightweight materials such as magnesium alloys are applied to reduce the weight and concluding the CO2emissions of cars. They are characterized by a high specific strength and almost inexhaustible availability. Applying them in innovative forming technologies offers the chance for various new products. Flexible forming technologies such as single-point incremental forming (SPIF) have been newly developed to meet the requirements of decreasing lot sizes and a rising variety of products and design. The application of SPIF on magnesium alloys is considered to be an outstanding approach to obtain innovative sheet metal products. For this reason, SPIF of the magnesium alloy AZ31 with a hot air heating system is investigated experimentally. The mechanical properties are investigated as well as the initial microstructure and texture of the AZ31. An experimental setup is designed for SPIF using a hot air blower for heating of the AZ31 sheet. The setup is tested in order to obtain a homogeneous sheet temperature distribution. Forming trials are performed to determine the critical wall angle of a cone for temperatures up to 320 °C. During the experiments the occurring forming forces are investigated. Subsequently, an analysis is conducted of the sheet thickness distribution, the geometrical accuracy and the microstructure development.