Die design for stamping a notebook case with magnesium alloy sheets

In the present study, the stamping process for manufacturing a notebook top cover case with LZ91 magnesium-lithium alloy sheet at room temperature was examined using both the experimental approach and the finite element analysis. A four-operation stamping process was developed to eliminate both the fracture and wrinkle defects occurred in the stamping process of the top cover case. In order to validate the finite element analysis, an actual four-operation stamping process was conducted with the use of 0.6 mm thick LZ91 sheet as the blank. A good agreement in the thickness distribution at various locations between the experimental data and the finite element results confirmed the accuracy and efficiency of the finite element analysis. The superior formability of LZ91 sheet at room temperature was also demonstrated in the present study by successful manufacturing of the notebook top cover case. The proposed four-operation process lends itself to an efficient approach to form the hinge in the notebook with less number of operational procedures than that required in the current practice. it also confirms that the notebook cover cases can be produced with LZ91 magnesium alloy sheet by the stamping process. It provides an alternative to the electronics industry in the application of magnesium alloys. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.