The process involves heating the component sheet to a specific, accurately controlled temperature. They are not necessarily new but can be regarded as emerging technologies with respect to their application to aluminum alloys. Spfdb superplastic forming and diffusion bonding presses. Since the polymer injection molding process and molding equipment in the 1870s, as an industry, plastic forming machines were rapidly developed until the 1930s, with the gradual commercialization of plastic molding equipment, injection molding and extrusion. Evolution of hot forming and superplastic forming presses in the aerospace industry thierry favre, lead spfhf engineer, acb. It is found that either in tensilecompressive deformation or in biaxis tensile deformation, the judgment criterion for local necking of superplastic deformation is 0 2 d. Forming hf superplastic forming spf hot forming is a forming technique with a short cycle time using mediumhigh temperature to increase the formability of the material being formed.
The experimental results shows that the maximum forming angle. Superplastic forming an overview sciencedirect topics. Inspection techniques are available to check the integrity of these products. It is a superior technique for causing large amounts of deformation under low strain rates and flow stresses, in comparison with techniques such as deep drawing 1 and 2, hot rolling 3, cold rolling 4, incremental forming 2.
Superplastic forming 40 years and still growing springerlink. Superplastic forming is a specialist process used for deforming metal sheet to extremely large plastic strains to produce thinwalled components to the nearnet shape. The process uses high temperature and gas pressure to form material at the desired deformation rates. The environmental conditions are severe as the superplastic forming process is carried out at a maximal. The sheet, or multiple sheets are then formed into a mould cavity or over a male. Velay 1, thierry cutard 1, nicolas guegan 2 1toulouse university mines albi research centre on tools, materials and processes cromep campus jarlard 810 albi cedex 09 france. Chapter 9 the development of incremental sheet forming. Petocz center for industrial research, fudetec, av. Based on the stereolithography stl triangle meshes, the spif main direction of the automotive body panel has been determined. In accordance with the partial fracture on the panel concave surface, the forming. Thus, conventional metalshaping processes for example, rolling, forging, and extrusion can be conducted with smaller, and cheaper equipment. The unit normal vector n is associated with the master surface. Schematic diagram of superplastic forming has been shown as.
For superplastic forming, many steps of mechanical forming are reduced, with their corresponding time and cost savings. Considerable growth of forming techniques may be noticed in hydroform ing, electromagnetic metal form ing, sheet metal forming with elastic tools, cavity. Material with more than 200% elongation during hot tensile testing are said to have superplastic forming capability. Superplastic forming is a process by which extremely complex parts are produced from a single sheet of superplastic material. The claims were 1 reduced part count 2 reduced assembly time 3 weight reduction 4 monolithic parts and 5 stronger structures. Superplastic forming is usually formed between the strainrate of 101 to 105 s1. Super plastic forming spf of sheet metal has been used to produce very complex shapes and integrated structures that are often lighter and stronger than the assemblies they have to replace. Nc state university sheet metalworking terminology punch. Superplastic forming spf offers engineers a method of accurately forming, single or multiple sheets of titanium into extremely complex, accurate, deep drawn shapes. Titanium and titanium alloys superplastic forming of. They are then dried and fire and impact strength and hardness. Superplastic forming is an industrial process used for creating precise and complex components out of superplastic materials.
Titanium and titanium alloys forming and formability of titanium and titanium alloys spf is a hot metal operation capable of making intricate parts in a single operation. A plastic forming machine, or plastic molding machine, is developed on the basis of rubber machinery and metal diecasting machine. Super plastic forming spf superplastic forming is a forming technique using material heated to the super plastic state to increase its formability allowing high elongation ratio for forming complex parts and deep shapes. Various casting, plastic forming or pressing techniques shapes ceramic products. Investigation of superplastic forming process through fea. The constant forming temperature was changed from 500 uc to. The present handy manual for the plastic forming industry was prepared by unido, with the cooperation of experts from the energy conservation center ecc japan, on energy saving technologies in the framework of the abovementioned unido programme. In sheet metal forming techniques, several evolution has made big steps in the last period of time. Incremental sheet metal forming incremental single point.
Industrial knowhow has historically been the tool of choice to define the superplastic forming process but, by using the most uptodate material testing, finite element modelling and process methods, the research centre is able to achieve optimal output. Superplastic manufacturers, service companies and distributors are listed in this trusted and comprehensive vertical portal. Superplasticity and superplastic forming article pdf available in materials science and technology 111. Ti 6al 4v and some stainless steels this is around 900 c 1,650 f and for aluminium alloys e. To begin with there is the ability to form components with double curvature and smooth contours from single sheet in one operation, with exceptional dimensional accuracy and surface finish, and none of the spring back associated with cold forming techniques. Mechanical engineering, sot, kiit university 23 incremental forming processes ring rolling horizontal vertical taper rolling shaping seamless rings from pierced disks shaping thick wall ring shaped blanks between rolls that control wall thickness, ring diameter, height and contour transverse rolling wedge cross flat rolling rolling to shape of cylindrical. Any breakthrough in the forming of sheet materials will most likely come from the development of new alloys with very high formability at low temperature or the development of processing techniques to improve formability of existing alloys that will relax the stringent requirements of the forming techniques themselves. Superplasticity article about superplasticity by the free. Thermal behaviour modelling of superplastic forming tools. Forming temperature for superplastic forming is more than one half the melting temperature of the material, iii. Several titanium alloys are superplastic, as are many specially formulated aluminum, stainless steel and. Superplasticity the unusual ability of some metals and alloys to elongate uniformly thousands of percent at elevated temperatures, much. The process thermoforming is a process in which a sheet of plastic is heated to a flexible state, stretched over or into a mold, allowed to cool, and removed from the mold for trimming.
In this situation, every point x of the slave surface is related to a point x c on the master surface via the classical minimal. Superplastic forming of advanced metallic materials 1st. The ability of materials to exhibit extensive plastic deformation generally the elongation is over 200% at an elevated temperature t 0. The alloys are formed at slow strain rate superplastic forming of 103 to 105 s1. New innovative and feasible sheet metal forming techniques that can provide good quality product with less manufacturing time, less set up cost and more flexible to any part complexity are very demanded nowadays. Elastoforming for special stamping or fluid cell parts.
The comprehensive directory provides access to full contact and ability information for sourcing professionals, engineers and researchers wishing to get information on metal forming services. In the context of an incrementaliterative scheme and for the sake of setting up local contact conditions, a description of both surfaces is presented in fig. Superplasticity is important to technology primarily because large amounts of deformation can be produced under low loads. Chapter 1 introduction superplastic forming is the ability of certain alloys, to undergo very large elongations, prior to fracture without neck formation. Advantageso it can simulate a variety of other conventional metal forming techniques such as stamp or pressforming and spinforming in a single operation. Because of their inherent brittleness, ceramics are processed with due consideration of distortion and cracking. Evolution of hot forming and superplastic forming presses.
Superplastic forming article about superplastic forming by. Superplastic forming is a process dedicated to sheet material allowing elongation of several. The superplastic bulging test of az31b magnesium alloy sheet of 0. Superplastic forming is a process dedicated for sheet material allowing elongation of several hundred percent. It is designed to provide an overview of the main processes. Pdf superplastic forming of a complex shape automotive. In order to predict and avoid the failure of the forming tool, the force, required for incremental forming, should be determined. In isf, a clamped sheet metal is progressively formed by a moving forming tool fig. It allows the forming of complex shapes and reduces the number of assembly operations. Controls of rowmaterial quality and processing parameters are important factors.
Tooling for experimental study of incremental forming without support. Cordoba 320, 1054 buenos aires, argentina abstract in order to develop an engineering tool for modelling 2d metal forming processes we implemented in the. Superplastic forming, aero engine, titanium, applications, inspection. Purchase superplastic forming of advanced metallic materials 1st edition. Mar 25, 20 advantageso it can simulate a variety of other conventional metal forming techniques such as stamp or pressforming and spinforming in a single operation. Superplastic forming of a threestage hemispherical 5083. Forming spif technology which is highflexibility, shortcycle, lowcost and so on. The paper has identified and discussed research studies for improving and addressing the current limitations, both experimentally and theoretically, for a range of forming techniques. Forming tools, thermal behaviour, finite element simulation, experiments 1 introduction heat resistant cast steels or ceramic materials are currently used to manufacture spf tools 1,2. Superplastic forming of advanced metallic materials 1st edition. A summary of the classical finite flow formulation of the problem is presented together with a detailed exposition of the incremental flow formulation.
Chapter 9 the development of incremental sheet forming from. Vacuum forming uses heat and pressure to draw plastic sheets into its final configuration. The superplastic forming limit diagram fld at 573k and 3. Once a sheet is heated and placed over a mold, a vacuum is used to manipulate it into its desired shape. Aug 23, 2014 in sheet metal forming techniques, several evolution has made big steps in the last period of time. Superplasticity article about superplasticity by the. They allow to form superplastically titanium based sheets. Superplastic forming is already being used industrially. Superplastic forming article about superplastic forming. A process for shaping superplastic materials, a unique class of crystalline materials that exhibit exceptionally high tensile ductility. The process offers a range of important benefits, from both the design and production aspects. Investigation of superplastic forming process through fea to.
Hydraulic press systems custom made to your specifications. However, low production rate due to slow forming process and limited predictive capabilities due to lack of. Franchitti department of industrial engineering, cassino university, italy abstract superplastic materials are characterised by very low strength during forming and by large plastic deformations. Swing arm profile stretch forming press fevv independently controlled 4 to 8 axes swing arm high forming torque. Forming process of automotive body panel based on incremental. West coast accudyne design, development and manufacturing of specialized press systems for the aerospace, defense, consumer goods, honey comb panel and many other industries. In the literature some techniques for the prevention of the tool overload may be found. To investigate the effects of input parameters to output parameters series of experiments were made using theory of design of experiments doe. Topics include definitions and analysis of strain and stress, formability, tool design, and materials. Superplastic forming involves stretching the material at least 200% beyond its original size, although the deformation can. Once a sheet is heated and placed over a mold, a vacuum is. Superplastic forming limit and instability of az31b sheet. An analysis of superplastic free forming at constant pressure.
Manufacturability and limitations in incremental sheet forming. The material is first heated up to promote superplasticity. Superplasticity is the ability of material to undergo extreme elongation allowing for deep drawn, intricate shapes. Superplastic forming plays an important role in many industrial and aerospace applications. An analysis of superplastic free forming at constant pressure g. Sheet metal forming massachusetts institute of technology. Superplastic forming of a complex shape automotive component with optimized heated tools article pdf available in materials science forum 838839. When superplastic forming spf was offered as a production process in the mid 70s, it became the panacea of all processes for sheet metal products designed to be made from titanium and aluminium materials. An effective technique for modelling 2d metal forming. The value of this paper is to summarize the main features, to explain the modeling chosen and to propose a new strategy for rheological characterization of materials by bulge test. Swing arm profile stretch forming press fevv independently controlled 4 to 8. Forming profile stretch forming is a very accurate and repeatable process for profile forming in 2d or 3d.