Feasibility of warm drawing of aluminium products

A study is carried out on the feasibility of using warm forming at temperatures from 100 to 250 degreesC in order to improve the makeability of aluminium sheet components. Drawing tests are performed on 1050, 5754 and 6016 series aluminium sheets. Both box shaped and conical rectangular products are made with a tool with heated die and blankholder. The effect of the temperature on the process limits is investigated. The results show that forming at elevated temperature can yield a significant increase in product height, especially for conical products. The minimum die temperature for a significant effect on the process limits is lower for the 6016 than for the 5754 alloy. The hardness of the warm formed products does not differ significantly from products shaped at room temperature. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.