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Previous studies have shown that the presence of a pulsed electrical current, applied during the deformation process of an aluminum specimen, can significantly improve the formability of the aluminum without heating the metal above its maximum operating temperature range. The research herein extends these findings by examining the effect of electrical pulsing on 5052 and 5083 aluminum alloys. Two different parameter sets were used while pulsing three different heat-treatments (as-is, 398°C, and 510°C) for each of the two aluminum alloys. For this research, the electrical pulsing is applied to the aluminum while the specimens are deformed without halting the deformation process (a manufacturing technique known as electrically assisted manufacturing). The analysis focuses on establishing the effect of the electrical pulsing has on the aluminum alloy’s various heat-treatments by examining the displacement of the material throughout the testing region of dogbone-shaped specimens. The results from this research show that pulsing significantly increases the maximum achievable elongation of the aluminum (when compared with baseline tests conducted without electrical pulsing). Another beneficial effect produced by electrical pulsing is that the engineering flow stress within the material is considerably reduced. The electrical pulses also cause the aluminum to deform nonuniformly, such that the material exhibits a diffuse neck where the minimum deformation occurs near the ends of the specimen (near the clamps) and the maximum deformation occurs near the center of the specimen (where fracture ultimately occurs). This diffuse necking effect is similar to what can be experienced during superplastic deformation. However, when comparing the presence of a diffuse neck in this research, electrical pulsing does not create as significant of a diffuse neck as superplastic deformation. Electrical pulsing has the potential to be more efficient than the traditional methods of incremental forming since the deformation process is never interrupted. Overall, with the greater elongation and lower stress, the aluminum can be deformed quicker, easier, and to a greater extent than is currently possible.

Currently, the automotive and aircraft industries are considering increasing the use of magnesium within their products due to its favorable strength-to-weight characteristics. However, the implementation of this material is limited as a result of its formability. Partially addressing this issue, previous research has shown that electrically-assisted forming (EAF) improves the tensile formability of magnesium sheet metal. While these results are highly beneficial toward fabricating the skin of the vehicle, a technique for allowing the use of magnesium alloys in the production of the structural/mechanical components is also desirable. Given the influence that FAF has already exhibited on tensile deformation, the research herein focuses on incorporating this technique within compressive operations. The potential benefit of using FAF on compressive processes has been demonstrated in related research where other ntaterials, such as titanium artd aluminum, have shown improved compressive behavior. Therefore, this research endeavors to amalgamate these findings to Mg AZ31B-0, which is traditionally hard to forge. As such, to demonstrate the effects of FAF on this alloy, two series of tests were petformed. First, the sensitivity of the alloy to the FAF process was determined by varying the current density and platen speed during an upsetting process (flat dies). Then, the ability to utilize impression (shaped) dies was examined. Through this study, it was shown for the first time that the FAF process increases the forgeability of this magnesium alloy through improvements such as decreased machine force requirements and increased achievable deformation. Additionally, the ability to form the desired final specimen geometry was achieved. Furthermore, this work also showed that this alloy is sensitive to any deformation rate changes when utilizing the FAF process. Last, a threshold current density was noted for this material where significant forgeability improvements could be realized once exceeded.

The process of friction stir welding involves high tool forces and requires robust machinery; the forces involved make tool wear a predominant problem. As a result, many alternatives have been proposed in decreasing tool forces such as laser assisted friction stir welding and ultra-sound assisted friction stir welding. However, these alternatives are not commercially successful on a large scale due to scalability and capital/maintenance costs. In an attempt to reduce forces in a cost-feasible manner, electrically-assisted friction stir welding (EAFSW) is studied in this work. EAFSW is a result of applying the concept of electrically-assisted manufacturing (i.e., passing high direct electrical current through a workpiece during processing) to the conventional friction stir welding process. The concept of EAFSW is a relatively new adaptation of conventional frictional stir welding, which is well established. The expected benefits are reduction in the feed force and torque, which allow for improved processing productivity as well as the possibility for deeper penetration of the weld.

Due to titanium's excellent strength-to-weight ratio and high corrosion resistance, titanium and its alloys have great potential to reduce energy usage in vehicles through a reduction in vehicle mass. The mass of a road vehicle is directly related to its energy consumption through inertial requirements and tire rolling resistance losses. However, when considering the manufacture of titanium automotive components, the machinability is poor, thus increasing processing cost through a trade-off between extended cycle time (labor cost) or increased tool wear (tooling cost). This fact has classified titanium as a "difficult-to-machine" material and consequently, titanium has been traditionally used for application areas having a comparatively higher end product cost such as in aerospace applications, the automotive racing segment, etc., as opposed to the consumer automotive segment. Herein, the problems associated with processing titanium are discussed, and a review of cutting tool technologies is presented that contributes to improving the machinability of titanium alloys. Additionally, nonconventional machining techniques such as High Speed Machining and Ultrasonic Machining are also reviewed. Additional factors specific to machining titanium alloys are also discussed, a crucial one being its non-conformity with standard tool wear models. Subsequently, the results of a controlled milling experiment on Ti-6Al-4V are presented, to evaluate the relationship between tool preparation/process parameters and tool wear and for a comparison with traditional wear models.