Die FEM-Simulation als Werkzeug bei der Entwicklung neuer Umformverfahren

The metal working industry is always searching for new production technologies to produce more complex parts associated with cost reductions. This paper introduces such a new forming technology. Through global or local heating of aluminium alloy the formability of the metal is enhanced. This forming process has some further advantages. It becomes possible to produce difficult and complex part geometries with only a few steps. Thereby, the production of the components will be more economic, the cycle time will be decreased and the part cost will be reduced. In the course of increasing environmental awareness energy saving becomes more and more relevant through the reduction of the cycle time minimizing the energy consumption. The paper indicates also the immense potential of the Finite Element Method during the development stage. It is shown that the complexity of the process and the range of parameters found can only be handled by a appropriate simulation model.