Experimental investigations of warm incremental sheet forming process on magnesium AZ31 and aluminium 6061 alloy

Aerospace, automobile and biomedical sector focuses on innovative rapid manufacturing processes, which can enable product customization, reduction in cost and manufacturing lead time. Aerospace, automobile and biomedical industries mostly use magnesium AZ31 and aluminium 6061 alloy materials for manufacturing of products because of their lower elastic modulus, excellent corrosion and fatigue resistance. The conventional sheet metal forming processes often require additional tools like punch and die and would not be economically viable to produce the customized structure for applications. An emerging forming technique known as warm incremental sheet forming process is evolved, which is capable of forming intricate, asymmetrical components at elevated temperature with localized deformation method. The characteristics of warm incremental sheet forming process suggest the need for the investigation of magnesium AZ31 and aluminium 6061 alloy materials for wide application of the process. Experimental investigation on the influence of process parameters on warm incremental sheet metal forming of magnesium AZ31 and aluminium 6061 alloy materials using electric heating technique was studied. Experimental results revealed that magnesium AZ31 and aluminium 6061 alloy sheet metal component formed with incremental depth of 0.1 mm, wall angle of 50 degrees and temperature of 300 degrees C showed maximum formability and thickness reduction with minimum geometrical deviation.

Automated summary

The aerospace, automobile and biomedical industries focus on innovative rapid manufacturing processes using magnesium AZ31 and aluminium 6061 alloy materials to enable product customization, cost reduction, and shorter manufacturing lead time. The warm incremental sheet forming process is an emerging forming technique capable of forming intricate, asymmetrical components at elevated temperatures. Experimental investigation on magnesium AZ31 and aluminium 6061 alloy materials revealed optimal formability and thickness reduction with minimum geometrical deviation under specific process parameters.