Combined process of hydroforming and electro hydraulic precision reshaping for aluminium alloy

Hydroforming has become an important process for aluminum alloy sheet forming. The advantages of this process include that it conserves mold material, energy and man power etc. However, at room temperature, due to aluminum alloy's low plasticity and large springback after forming, the shape of the aluminum alloy parts will not meet the precision requirements, and therefore, reshaping the aluminum alloy parts to meet the precision requirements becomes a challenge. The plasticity of aluminum alloy can be improved at high speed deforming at room temperature [1]. Therefore, electromagnetic forming and electro hydraulic-forming become options. For the parts with simple shapes, it is possible to perform precise reforming with electromagnetic shaping. For the parts with complex shapes, electro hydraulic-forming becomes a better choice. Hence, combined process of hydroforming and electro hydraulic precision reshaping is a new leading process used for the precise forming of aluminum alloy sheet. This paper discusses the details of this combined process by introducing this process, analyzing the details of the parts formed, as well as providing evidence to support the superiority of this process. (C) 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 17th International Conference on Metal Forming.