Radial Lorentz force augmented deep drawing for large drawing ratio using a novel dual-coil electromagnetic forming system

Abstract

In order to overcome the limitations of the existing electromagnetic forming systems for deep drawing, a dual-coil system has been developed for deep drawing of sheet metal with large drawing ratio. In addition to the conventional driving coil that generates the axial Lorentz force on the workpiece, a radial inward force in the flange region is generated by a second coil that is energized by an individual power supply. The axial force pushes the sheet into the die in axial direction, while the radial Lorentz force enhances the material flow of the flange. The effectiveness of the novel system is validated by a series of experiments for deep drawing a cup of AA1060-H24 with drawing ratio of 3.25. It is demonstrated that with the dual-coil system the material flow of the flange can be significantly enhanced, and the maximum forming depth without failure is greatly increased from 8.44mm to 20.28mm. The new electromagnetic forming method is expected to break through the bottleneck of deep drawing and enable major advances in forming metallic parts and components that are difficult to form, by developing driving coils with advanced design.