Electromagnetically activated high-speed hydroforming process: A novel process to overcome the limitations of the electromagnetic forming process

Abstract

In this paper, a novel electromagnetically activated high-speed hydroforming process (EAHF) is introduced. The EAHF process is compared with the electromagnetic forming process (EMF) in the forming of a low-conductive steel sheet, forming of a high-conductive thin aluminum sheet and also, in the multistage forming of an aluminum sheet. Furthermore, the effect of the process parameters on the EAHF process is investigated by the Taguchi design of experiments. Based on the results it can be concluded that the presented process is an efficient high-speed forming process that can be used for metals and non-metals with low electrical conductivity. This process has more uniform pressure and hence more uniform geometry compared to the EMF process. Furthermore, by a proper design of the process, EAHF can be used for the simultaneous forming and trimming operation.