Warm incremental forming of magnesium alloys using hot fluid as heating media

Industrial application of magnesium alloys is increasing in the last decade due to the very high mechanical strength to weight ratio they present. Typical applications are aeronautic parts but their use in the automotive industry is also growing. The bigger the reduction of the vehicle weight is, which can be obtain using these alloys, the bigger the energy saving will be in the near future. However, the formability of these alloys is poor and they are very difficult to be formed at room temperature. Several works have been presented by different authors on the positive influence the temperature increase has to form magnesium alloys. Normal process temperature is about 200-250 degrees C. In this paper warm incremental forming of magnesium alloys is investigated. The work focuses in the formability limits of the alloys and the identification of the optimal process parameters. Aiming to obtain a homogeneous temperature in the forming areas, hot fluid is used as heating media. Experimental results for different temperatures are presented and final microstructures are related to the possible deformation mechanism.