Improvement of formability for multi-point bending process of AZ31B sheet material using elastic cushion

摘要

On multi-point forming process, one of the most obvious limitations is the need for a pliable interpolating material such as elastic cushion between punch element tips and sheet metal to prevent the formation of dimples on the surface of final part. In this study, numerical simulations of multi-point bending process in case of different thicknesses of elastic cushion are performed to obtain a specified final shape as a cylindrical surface with curvature radius of 434.65mm and centre angle parameter of 52.73° by using initial blank with length of 800mm, width of 600mm, and thickness of 2mm, respectively. To find the suitable thickness of the elastic cushion, four evaluating indicators including plastic dissipation energy, stress components, shape error and maximum ductile damage are introduced and analyzed. As the results, each value of four evaluating indicators is decreased, and their distributions become more uniform on the deformed blank by adopting the elastic cushion. Resultantly, it is summarized that the formability of AZ31B magnesium alloy can be improved by using the elastic cushion, and the most proper thickness of the elastic cushion is 4 mm for the multi-point bending process of AZ31B sheet with thickness of 2mm.