Formability improvement with independent die and punch temperature control

A combined experimental and numerical study of the effects of die and punch temperature on the formability of a modified AA3003 aluminum alloy sheet for a case study sample is presented. Here, the non-isothermal deep drawing of a cup-like feature in a thin gauge aluminum automotive component is considered. An experimental forming setup that incorporates both heated dies and a cooled punch has been developed. A parametric study of the effects of die temperature, punch temperature, and blank holder force on the formability of the part is conducted. Numerical simulations of the warm forming process are performed using a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element model. The temperature-dependant material model combines the Bergstrom hardening rule with Barlat's YLD2000 yield function and was implemented in LS-DYNA as a user-defined material model. Selected experimental cases were modelled numerically and compared to experiments. The FEA model was validated against experimental results by comparing measured and predicted punch force versus displacement as well as trends in the formability as a function of die temperature.