ELECTRO-MAGNETIC FORMING (EMF)
The EMF process uses a capacitor bank, a forming coil , a field shaper , and
an electrically conductive workpiece to create intense magnetic fields that are
used to do the useful work as shown in fig below:
Fig.1: Circuit diagram of electromagnetic forming
This very intense magnetic field, produced by the discharge of a bank of capacitors into a
forming coil, lasts only a few microseconds.
The resulting eddy currents that are induced in a conductive workpiece that is placed close
to the coil then interact with the magnetic field to cause mutual repulsion between the
workpiece and the forming coil.
The force of this repulsion is sufficient to stress the work metal beyond its yield strength,
resulting in a permanent deformation.
As the workpiece surface moves inward under the influence of this pressure, it absorbs
energy from the magnetic field.
To apply most of this available energy to forming, and to reduce energy loss due to
permeation of the workpiece material (which wastes energy by resistance heating), the
forming pulse is kept short. In most forming applications, pulses have duration of between
10 and 100 second.
FORMATION METHODS
Electromagnetic formation can usually be applied to three forming methods: compression,
expansion, and contour forming.
A tubular workpiece is compressed by an external coil, usually against a grooved contoured
insert, plug, tube or fitting inside the workpiece. Similarly, a tubular workpiece is expanded
by an internal coil, usually against a collar or other component surrounding the workpiece
as shown in figure below.
Flat stock is almost always contour-formed against a die as shown in figure below.
Fig.2: Expansion and Compression in Electromagnetic Forming
Fig.3: Three basic methods of EMF (i) Compression (ii) Expension and (iii) Contour Forming
PROCESS PARAMETERS:
i) Work piece size
ii) Electrical conductivity of the work material.
iii) Size of the capacitor bank
iv) The strength of the current, which decides the strength of the magnetic field and the
force applied.
v) Insulation on the coil.
vi) Rigidity of the coil.
ADVANTAGES OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FORMING:
It gives a high rate of production.
Non contact: Unlike other mechanical processes in which a tool contacts a workpiece, in
EMF the magnetic field that applies the pressure requires no lubrication, leaves no tool
marks and therefore requires no cleanup after forming. One exception that does require
lubrication is when the workpiece is driven against a mandrel and then removed.
Springback: The material is loaded into its plastic region, resulting in permanent
deformation, so that the springback often associated with mechanical processes is virtually
eliminated, because there is no mechanical contact.
Strength: Joints made by this process are typically stronger than the parent material.
The EMF process allows increased ductility for certain aluminum alloys because of the lack
of mechanical stress and friction normally encountered with mechanical processes.
Tooling: The tooling for process is relatively inexpensive, the machine and the work coils
can be viewed as general –purpose tooling.
GENERAL LIMITATIONS:
The speed of joining or formation also represents one of the limitations of the process.
Because forming take place in such a short period, the material does not lend itself to deep
drawing of materials.
The process is also limited to those materials that are electrically conductive materials
with an electrical resistivity of 0.15 micro –ohm- meter or less are ideal candidates for the
process. Included in this group are such materials as copper, aluminum, brass, and mild
steels.
Pressure limit: The maximum pressure that can be applied by standard compression coils
is approximately 340 Mpa, thus the process is restricted to relatively thin – wall tube or
sheet products.
APPLICATIONS:
Electromagnetic forming is chiefly used to expand, compress, or form tubular shapes.
It is occasionally used to form flat sheet, and it is often used to combine several forming
and assembly operations into a single step.
DIE MATERIALS:
The die used in electromagnetic process should be made of low electrical conductivity to
minimize the magnetic cushion effect. Dies are generally made of the following materials:
Steel or epoxy resin. Steel dies have longer life but the disadvantage of steel dies is that
magnetic cushion effect is not entirely prevented. Air is often evacuated from the die to
ensure good reproduction of detail, and prevent distortion caused by entrapped air, which is
particularly likely to occur with thin gauge material.