Numerically Assisted Design for Electromagnetically Driven Tools

The use of high-speed forming technologies can contribute to satisfying current social and political demands on production technology such as sustainability and climate protection in manufacturing. These technologies have a very high potential for shaping complex, sharp-edged parts and constitute a key means of reducing a component's weight. One exemplary high-speed forming technology is electromagnetic forming. It uses the energy density of pulsed magnetic fields to impose forces on electrically conductive materials, which leads to plastic deformation after exceeding the yield stress of the material. However, for very thin sheet materials this effect could result in an uncontrolled deformation of the work piece. In order to overcome this effect, the use of electromagnetically driven tools can be appropriate. An additional benefit is that this process is no longer restricted to electrically highly conductive work piece materials. In order to achieve an efficient process and high work piece quality, it is necessary to design an electromagnetically driven tool, adapted to the forming task and considering the electrical properties of the machine. For this reason, a numerically supported design strategy is presented within this paper and the challenges that arise during this process are highlighted.