Effect of Process Parameters on Formability of a AZ31 Magnesium Alloy Thin-Walled Cylindrical Part Formed by Multistage Warm Single-Point Incremental Forming

Abstract

Magnesium alloys have many distinguished advantages; therefore, they are more and more popularly used in lightweight design of automotive and aviation manufacturing industries. However, its poor plasticity at room temperature has prevented its further application, especially in magnesium alloy sheet forming process. To expand the application of magnesium alloy sheets, single-point incremental forming process for rapid prototype manufacturing and small-scale productions of sheet metal was investigated. By combining finite element numerical simulations with physical experiments, the relationships between the maximum thickness differences and different process parameters are explored, and the optimal process parameters for forming a certain straight wall cylindrical part of AZ31 magnesium alloy were determined. Based on the analysis of the results, the formability of AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet using warm single-point incremental forming (SPIF) is improved with the increases of number of forming stage, forming temperature, and tool diameter but reduced with the increase of feed rate and interlayer spacing. The suitable forming temperature for AZ31 magnesium alloy sheet is about 250 • C. For forming the deeper straight wall cylindrical parts, at least four forming stages are needed.

Electrochemical micromachining and parameter optimization on AZ31 alloy—ANN and TOPSIS techniques

“…Ayhan et al [4] investigated the influence of machining parameters for AZ91 micromachining; the minimum surface roughness during micro milling was obtained at a high cutter speed of 11,000 rpm, feed rate of 170 mm/min, and cut depth of 0.3 mm. An et al [5] observed the influence of various parameters on a thin-walled cylindrical specimen of AZ31 Mg alloy by using multistage forming techniques. Process parameters had the most significant influence on parts with uniform thickness, and the optimal parameters for forming AZ31 were the forming temperature of 250 C, feed rate of 250 mm/min, and a 10 mm diameter form tool.…”

Prediction of limit drawing ratio in deep drawing process of Mg alloy AZ31 using Fuzzy Logic

“…As the general vehicle industry aims to increase fuel efficiency, reducing structural weight by using lightweight materials is one of the possibilities to reach this achievement [3,4]. As the lightest structural alloys, magnesium alloys represent a promising alternative with many advantages compared with steel and aluminum alloys [3,[5][6][7][8][9]. Nevertheless, due to its hexagonal closed-packed (HCP) crystal structure, magnesium alloys show poor formability at room temperatures, being difficult to be deformed and shaped .…”

A numerical approach for the modelling of forming limits in hot incremental forming of AZ31 magnesium alloy

“…Ambrogio et al [10] authored one of the first papers on incremental hot forming of magnesium alloys, demonstrating the feasibility of the process and highlighting that the tool diameter has a negligible effect on formability. Zhi-guo et al [11], studying the warm single-point incremental forming (SPIF) process, observed a ductile behavior starting at a temperature of 250°C. Xu et al [12] compared two heating systems, namely resistance and frictional stir heating, for different geometries.…”