Influence of component design on extrusion processes in sheet-bulk metal forming

Nowadays, the functional integration of workpieces challenges existing forming processes. The combination of established forming processes – like sheet metal and bulk forming – offers the possibility to counter this issue. The application of bulk forming operations on sheet metal semi-finished products, also called sheet-bulk metal forming (SBMF), is an innovative approach. The potential of SBMF cannot be fully exploited, as there are no recommendations in terms of workpiece design and layout influence on the process result. Therefore, this paper focuses on the analysis of semi-finished products and component design parameters on resulting part and process properties in two extrusion processes in SBMF. The investigation is based on a combined numerical and experimental approach. It is shown that the investigated design parameters, in addition to the achievable dimensional accuracy, substantially influence the occurring tool loads as well as the required process forces.