Vacuum forming

Vacuum forming, commonly known by people as vacuuforming, is a simplified version of thermoforming, whereby a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto or into a single-surface mold (BrE, mould), and held against the mold by applying vacuum between the mold surface and the sheet. The vacuum forming process can be used to make most product packaging, speaker casings and even car dashboards. Normally, draft angles must be present in the design on the mold (a recommended minimum of 3), otherwise release of the formed plastic and the mold is very difficult. Vacuum forming is usually but not always restricted to forming plastic parts that are rather shallow in depth. A thin sheet is formed into rigid cavities for unit doses of pharmaceuticals and for loose objects that are carded or presented as point-of-purchase items. Thick sheet is formed into permanent objects such as turnpike signs and protective covers. Relatively deep parts can be formed if the form-able sheet is mechanically or pneumatically stretched prior to bringing it in contact with the mold surface and before vacuum is applied.[1] Suitable materials for use in vacuum forming are conventionally thermoplastics, the most common and easiest being High Impact Polystyrene Sheeting (HIPS). This is molded around a wood, structural foam or cast/machined aluminum mold and can form to almost any shape. Vacuum forming is also appropriate for transparent materials such as acrylic which are widely used in applications for aerospace such as passenger cabin window canopies for military fixed wing aircraft and "bubbles" for rotary wing aircraft.

Roll forming
Roll forming, also spelled rollforming, is a continuous bending operation in which a long strip of sheet metal (typically coiled steel) is passed through sets of rolls mounted on consecutive stands, each set performing only an incremental part of the bend, until the desired cross-section

profile is obtained. Roll forming is ideal for producing constant-profile parts with long lengths

and in large quantities. Cluster roll set

Bending along rolls

Overview
A variety of cross-section profiles can be produced, but each profile requires a carefully crafted set of roll tools. Design of the rolls starts with a flower pattern, which is the sequence of profile cross-sections, one profile for each stand of rolls. The roll contours are then derived from the flower pattern profiles. Because of the high cost of the roll sets, computer simulation is often used to develop or validate the roll designs and optimize the forming process to minimize the number of stands and material stresses in the final product. Roll formed sections may have advantages over extrusions of a similar shapes. Roll formed parts may be much lighter, with thinner walls possible than in the extrusion process, and stronger, having been work hardened in a cold state. Parts can be made having a finish or already painted. In addition, the roll forming process is more rapid and takes less energy than extrusion. Roll forming machines are available that produce shapes of different sizes and material thicknesses using the same rolls. Variations in size are achieved by making the distances between the rolls variable by manual adjustment or computerized controls, allowing for rapid changeover. These specialized mills are prevalent in the light gauge framing industry where metal studs and tracks of standardized profiles and thicknesses are used. For example a single

mill may be able to produce metal studs of different web (e.g. 3-5/8" to 14"), flange (e.g. 1-3/8" to 2-1/2") and lip (e.g. 3/8" to 5/8") dimensions, from different gauges (e.g. 20 to 12 GA) of galvanized steel sheet. Roll forming lines can be set up with multiple configurations to punch and cut off parts in a continuous operation. For cutting a part to length, the lines can be set up to use a pre-cut die where a single blank runs through the roll mill, or a post-cut die where the profile is cutoff after the roll forming process. Features may be added in a hole, notch, embossment, or shear form by punching in a roll forming line. These part features can be done in a pre-punch application (before roll forming starts), in a mid-line punching application (in the middle of a roll forming line/process) or a post punching application (after roll forming is done). Some roll forming lines incorporate only one of the above punch or cutoff applications, others incorporate some or all of the applications in one line.
Process

The process of roll forming is one of the simpler manufacturing processes. It typically begins with a large coil of sheet metal, between 1 in. and 20in. in width, and 0.004 in. and 0.125 in. thick, supported on an uncoiler. The strip is fed through an entry guide to properly align the material as it passes through the rolls of the mill, each set of rolls forming a bend until the material reaches its desired shape. Roll sets are typically mounted one over the other on a pair of horizontal parallel shafts supported by a stand(s). Side rolls and cluster rolls may also be used to provide greater precision and flexibility and to limit stresses on the material. The shaped strips can be cut to length ahead of a roll forming mill, between mills, or at the end of the roll forming line.
Geometric Possibilities

The geometric possibilities can be very broad and even include enclosed shapes so long as it is the same cross-section throughout. Typical sheeting thicknesses range from 0.004in. to 0.125in., but they can exceed that. Length is almost unaffected by the rolling process. The part widths typically aren't smaller than 1in. however they can exceed 20in. The primary limitation is profile depth, which is generally limited to less than 4in and rarely larger than 6in due to roll-imparted stresses and surface speed differentials that increase with depth.

Tolerances can typically be held within 0.015in. for the width of the cross-sectional form, and 0.060in. for its depth.[1]

Production Rates

The production rate depends greatly on the material thickness and the bend radius, it is also affected by the number of stations or steps required. For bend radii of 50 times the material thickness of a low carbon steel .07 in thick can range from 85 feet per minute through eight stations to 55 feet per minute through 12 stations or 50 feet per minute through 22 stations. The time taken for one product to take shape can be represented by a simple function. The function is as follows: Formingtime = [L + n(d)] / V where V is the velocity of strip through rolls

(fpm), L is the length of the piece being rolled (ft), d is the distance between forming stands (ft), and n is the number of forming stands. In general roll forming lines can run from 5 feet per minute to 500 + depending on the application. In some cases the limiting factor is the punching or cutoff applications.
Other Considerations

While dealing with manufacturing, there are always things to be considered such as lubrication, the effect of the process on material properties, cost, and of course safety. Lubrication provides an essential barrier between the roll dies and the workpiece surface. They help to reduce the tool wear, and allow things to move along faster. This table shows the different kinds of lubricants, their application, and the ideal metals to use them on. Work Material Nonferrous Ferrous Stainless steels Polished surfaces Roll Lubricants Application

Chlorinated oils or waxes, mineral oils Spray, wiping roller Water-soluble oils Chlorinated oils or waxes Plastic film Wiping, drip, spray Wiping roller Calendaring, covering, spraying

Precoated materials Film/forced air

The effects of the process on the material's properties for this process are very minimal. The physical and chemical properties virtually have no change. But the process may cause workhardening, microcracks, or thinning at bends when discussing the mechanical properties of the material. The cost of roll forming is relatively low. Some things to be considered when calculating the cost of the process are setup time, equipment and tool costs, load/unload time, direct labor rate, overhead rate, and the amortization of equipment and tooling. Safety is also a bit of an issue with this process. The main hazards that need to be taken into consideration are dealing with moving workpieces (up to 800 fpm), high pressure rolls, or sharp, sheared metal edges

Thermoforming
A vacuum/pressure assist thermoforming machine with molds visible in the lower right. Thermoforming is a manufacturing process where a plastic sheet is heated to a pliable forming temperature, formed to a specific shape in a mold, and trimmed to create a usable product. The sheet, or "film" when referring to thinner gauges and certain material types, is heated in an oven to a high-enough temperature that it can be stretched into or onto a mold and cooled to a finished shape. In its simplest form, a small tabletop or lab size machine can be used to heat small cut sections of plastic sheet and stretch it over a mold using vacuum. This method is often used for sample and protoype parts. In complex and high-volume applications, very large production machines are utilized to heat and form the plastic sheet and trim the formed parts from the sheet in a continuous high-speed process, and can produce many thousands of finished parts per hour depending on the machine and mold size and the size of the parts being formed. Thermoforming differs from injection molding, blow molding, rotational molding, and other forms of processing plastics. Thin-gauge thermoforming is primarily the manufacture of disposable cups, containers, lids, trays, blisters, clamshells, and other products for the food, medical, and general retail industries. Thick-gauge thermoforming includes parts as diverse as vehicle door and dash panels, refrigerator liners, utility vehicle beds, and plastic pallets. In the most common method of high-volume, continuous thermoforming of thin-gauge products, plastic sheet is fed from a roll or from an extruder into a set of indexing chains that incorporate pins, or spikes, that pierce the sheet and transport it through an oven for heating to forming temperature. The heated sheet then indexes into a form station where a mating mold and pressure-box close on the sheet, with vacuum then applied to remove trapped air and to pull the material into or onto the mold along with pressurized air to form the plastic to the detailed shape of the mold. (Plug-assists are typically used in addition to vacuum in the case of taller, deeperdraw formed parts in order to provide the needed material distribution and thicknesses in the finished parts.) After a short form cycle, a burst of reverse air pressure is actuated from the vacuum side of the mold as the form tooling opens, commonly referred to as air-eject, to break the vacuum and assist the formed parts off of, or out of, the mold. A stripper plate may also be utilized on the mold as it opens for ejection of more detailed parts or those with negative-draft, undercut areas. The sheet containing the formed parts then indexes into a trim station on the same machine, where a die cuts the parts from the remaining sheet web, or indexes into a separate trim press where the formed parts are trimmed. The sheet web remaining after the formed parts are trimmed is typically wound onto a take-up reel or fed into an inline granulator for recycling. Most thermoforming companies recycle their scrap and waste plastic, either by compressing in a baling machine or by feeding into a granulator (grinder) and producing ground flake, for sale to

reprocessing companies or re-use in their own facility. Frequently, scrap and waste plastic from the thermoforming process is converted back into extruded sheet for forming again.

Thin gauge and heavy (thick) gauge thermoforming

There are two general thermoforming process categories. Sheet thickness less than 1.5 mm (0.060 inches) is usually delivered to the thermoforming machine from rolls or from a sheet extruder. Thin-gauge roll-fed or inline extruded thermoforming applications are dominated by rigid or semi-rigid disposable packaging. Sheet thicknesses greater than 3 mm (0.120 inches) is usually delivered to the forming machine by hand or an auto-feed method already cut to final dimensions. Heavy, or thick-gauge, cut sheet thermoforming applications are primarily used as permanent structural components. There is a small but growing medium gauge market that forms sheet 1.5 mm to 3 mm in thickness. Heavy-gauge forming utilizes the same basic process as continuous thin-gauge sheet forming, typically draping the heated plastic sheet over a mold. Many heavy-gauge forming applications use vacuum only in the form process, although some use two halves of mating form tooling and include air pressure to help form. Aircraft windscreens and machine gun turret windows spurred the advance of heavy-gauge forming technology during WWII. Heavy gauge parts are used as cosmetic surfaces on permanent structures such as kiosks, automobiles, trucks, medical equipment, material handling equipment, refrigerators, spas, and shower enclosures, and electrical and electronic equipment. Unlike most thin-gauge thermoformed parts, heavy-gauge parts are often hand-worked after forming for trimming to final shape or for additional drilling, cutting, or finishing, depending on the product. Heavy-gauge products typically are of a "permanent" end use nature, while thin-gauge parts are more often designed to be disposable or recyclable and are primarily used to package or contain a food item or product. Heavy gauge thermoforming is typically used for production quantities of 250 to 3000 annually, with lower tooling costs and faster product development than competing plastic technologies like injection molding.

Engineering
Thermoforming has benefited from applications of engineering technology [3], although the basic forming process is very similar to what was invented many years ago. Microprocessor and computer controls on more modern machinery allow for greatly increased process control and repeatability of same-job setups from one production run to the next, usually with the ability to save oven heater and process timing settings between jobs. The ability to place formed sheet into an inline trim station for more precise trim registration has been hugely improved due to the common use of electric servo motors for chain indexing versus air cylinders, gear racks, and clutches on older machines. Electric servo motors are also used on some modern and more sophisticated forming machines for actuation of the machine platens where form and trim tooling are mounted, rather than air cylinders which have traditionally been the industry standard, giving more precise control over closing and opening speeds and timing of the tooling. Quartz and radiant-panel oven heaters generally provide more precise and thorough sheet heating over older cal-rod type heaters, and better allow for zoning of ovens into areas of adjustable heat.

An integral part of the thermoforming process is the tooling which is specific to each part that is to be produced. Thin gauge thermoforming as described above is almost always performed on inline machines and typically requires molds, plug assists, pressure boxes and all mounting plates as well as the trim tooling and stacker parts that pertain to the job. Thick or heavy gauge thermoforming also requires tooling specific to each part, but because the part size can be very large, the molds can be cast aluminum or some other composite material as well as machined aluminum as in thin gauge. Typically thick gauge parts must be trimmed on CNC routers or hand trimmed using saws or hand routers. Even the most sophisticated thermoforming machine is limited to the quality of the tooling. Some large thermoforming manufacturers choose to have design and tool making facilities in house while others will rely on outside tool-making shops to build the tooling.

Hydroforming

Hydroforming (or hydramolding) is a cost-effective way of shaping malleable metals such as aluminum or brass into lightweight, structurally stiff and strong pieces. One of the largest applications of hydroforming is the automotive industry, which makes use of the complex shapes possible by hydroforming to produce stronger, lighter, and more rigid unibody structures for vehicles. This technique is particularly popular with the high-end sports car industry and is also frequently employed in the shaping of aluminium tubes for bicycle frames. Hydroforming is a specialized type of die forming that uses a high pressure hydraulic fluid to press room temperature working material into a die. To hydroform aluminum into a vehicle's frame rail, a hollow tube of aluminum is placed inside a negative mold that has the shape of the desired end result. High pressure hydraulic pumps then inject fluid at very high pressure inside

the aluminum which causes it to expand until it matches the mold. The hydroformed aluminum is then removed from the mold. Hydroforming allows complex shapes with concavities to be formed, which would be difficult or impossible with standard solid die stamping. Hydroformed parts can often be made with a higher stiffness-to-weight ratio and at a lower per unit cost than traditional stamped or stamped and welded parts. Virtually all metals capable of cold forming can be hydroformed, including aluminum, brass, carbon and stainless steel, copper, and high strength alloys.[1] This process is based on the 1950s patent for hydramolding by Fred Leuthesser, Jr. and John Fox of the Schaible Company of Cincinnati, OH. It was originally used in producing kitchen spouts. This was done because in addition to the strengthening of the metal, hydramolding also produced less "grainy" parts, allowing for easier metal finishing.

Process schematic
Sheet hydroforming

In sheet hydroforming there are bladder forming (where there is a bladder that contains the liquid; no liquid contacts the sheet) and hydroforming where the fluid contacts the sheet (no bladder). A work piece is placed on a draw ring (blank holder) over a male punch then a hydraulic chamber surrounds the work piece and a relatively low initial pressure seats the work piece against the punch. The punch then is raised into the hydraulic chamber and pressure is increased to as high as 15000 psi which forms the part around the punch. Then the pressure is released and punch retracted, hydraulic chamber lifted, and the process is complete.
Tube hydroforming

In tube hydroforming (THF) there are two major practices: high pressure and low pressure. With the high pressure process the tube is fully enclosed in a die prior to pressurization of the tube. In low pressure the tube is slightly pressurized to a fixed volume during the closing of the die (this used to be called the Variform process). In tube hydroforming pressure is applied to the inside of a tube that is held by dies with the desired cross sections and forms. When the dies are closed, the tube ends are sealed by axial punches and the tube is filled with hydraulic fluid. The internal pressure can go up to a few thousands of bars and it causes the tube to calibrate against the dies. The fluid is injected into the tube through one of the two axial punches. Axial punches are movable and their action is required to provide axial compression and to feed material towards the center of the bulging tube. Transverse counterpunches may also be incorporated in the forming die in order to form protrusions with small diameter/length ratio. Transverse counterpunches may also be used to punch holes in the work piece at the end of the forming process. Many industrial applications of the process can be found, especially in the automotive sector.

Explosive hydroforming

For large parts, explosive hydroforming can generate the forming pressure by simply exploding a charge above the part (complete with evacuated mold) which is immersed in a pool of water. The tooling can be much cheaper than what would be required for any press-type process. The hydroforming-into-a-mold process also works using only a shock wave in air as the pressuring medium. Particularly when the explosives are close to the workpiece, inertia effects make the result more complicated than forming by hydrostatic pressure alone.

[Typical tools
One advantage of hydroforming is the savings on tools. For sheet metal only a draw ring and punch (metalworking) or male die is required. The bladder of the hydroform itself acts as the male die eliminating the need to fabricate a matching male die. This allows for changes in material thickness to be made with usually no necessary changes to the tool. However, dies must be highly polished and in tube hydroforming a two-piece die is required to allow opening and closing.

Geometry produced
Another advantage of hydroforming is that complex shapes can be made in one step. In sheet hydroforming (SHF) with the bladder acting as the male die almost limitless geometries can be produced. However, the process is limited by the very high closing force required in order to seal the dies, especially for large panels and thick hard materials. Small concave corner radii are difficult to be completely calibrated, i.e. filled, because too large a pressure would be required. Limits of the SHF process are due to risks of excessive thinning, fracture, wrinkling and are strictly related to the material formability and to a proper selection of process parameters (e.g. hydraulic pressure vs. time curve). Tube hydroforming (THF) can produce many geometric options as well, reducing the need for tube welding operations. Similar limitations and risks can be listed as in SHF; however, the maximum closing force is seldom a limiting factor in THF.[5]

Tolerances and surface finish

Hydroforming is capable of producing parts within tight tolerances including aircraft tolerances where a common tolerance for sheet metal parts is within 0.76mm (thirty thousandths of an inch). Sheet metal hydroforming also allows for a smoother finish as draw marks produced by the traditional method of pressing a male and female die together are eliminated.

Effect on work material

When a blank is hydroformed the metal flows around the die rather than stretching, which produces less material thinning, and also reduces the rate of work hardening which helps eliminate the need for an annealing process on some parts that might otherwise require further forming operations.

Electromagnetic forming (EM forming or magneforming) is a type of high velocity, cold forming process for electrically conductive metals, most commonly copper and aluminium. The workpiece is reshaped by high intensity pulsed magnetic fields that induce a current in the workpiece and a corresponding repulsive magnetic field, rapidly repelling portions of the workpiece. The workpiece can be reshaped without any contact from a tool, although in some instances the piece may be pressed against a die or former. The technique is sometimes called high velocity forming or electromagnetic pulse technology.

Explanation
A rapidly changing magnetic field induces a circulating electrical current within a nearby conductor through electromagnetic induction. The induced current creates a corresponding magnetic field around the conductor (see Pinch (plasma physics)). Because of Lenz's Law, the magnetic fields created within the conductor and work coil strongly repel each other.

When the switch is closed, electrical energy stored in the capacitor bank (left) is discharged through the forming coil (orange) producing a rapidly changing magnetic field which induces a current to flow in the metallic workpiece (pink). The current flowing the workpiece produces a corresponding opposite magnetic field which rapidly repels the workpiece from the forming coil, reshaping the workpiece - in this case, compressing the diameter of the cylindrical tube. The reciprocal forces acting against the forming coil are resisted by the 'supportive coil casing (green). In practice the metal workpiece to be fabricated is placed in proximity to a heavily constructed coil of wire (called the work coil). A huge pulse of current is forced through the work coil by rapidly discharging a high voltage capacitor bank using an ignitron or a spark gap as a switch. This creates a rapidly oscillating, ultrastrong electromagnetic field around the work coil. The high work coil current (typically tens or hundreds of thousands of amperes) creates ultrastrong magnetic forces that easily overcome the yield strength of the metal work piece, causing permanent deformation. The metal forming process occurs extremely quickly (typically tens of microseconds) and, because of the large forces, portions of the workpiece undergo high acceleration reaching velocities of up to 300 m/s.

Applications
The forming process is most often used to shrink or expand cylindrical tubing, but it can also form sheet metal by repelling the work piece onto a shaped die at a high velocity. High-quality joints can be formed, either by electromagnetic pulse crimping with a mechanical interlock or by electromagnetic pulse welding with a true metallurgical weld. Since the forming operation involves high acceleration and deceleration, mass of the work piece plays a critical role during the forming process. The process works best with good electrical conductors such as copper or aluminum, but it can be adapted to work with poorer conductors such as steel.

Comparison with Mechanical Forming

Electromagnetic forming has a number of advantages and disadvantages compared to conventional mechanical forming techniques. Some of the advantages are;

Improved formability (the amount of stretch available without tearing) Wrinkling can be greatly suppressed Forming can be combine with joining and assembling with dissimilar components including glass, plastic, composites and other metals. Close tolerances are possible as springback can be significantly reduced. Single sided dies are sufficient which can reduce tooling costs Lubricants are reduced or are unnecessary, so forming can be used in clean room conditions Mechanical contact with the workpiece is not required, this avoids surface contamination and tooling marks. As a result, a surface finish can be applied to the workpiece before forming.

The principle disadvantages are;

Non conductive materials cannot be formed directly, but can be formed using a conductive drive plate The high voltages and currents involved require careful safety considerations Large sheet metal components cannot readily be formed, due to current limitations on the design of very large coils

ABSTRACT
The main idea of selecting this topic is that the students must get an idea about the Forming Process. The main aim of this is to share the knowledge about the different Forming Processes available with everyone. This was carried out with reference to many books and of course the internet was used in a large scale, the ideas are referred from many books and put together. By the end of this we will come to know about the various Forming process available. The different Forming Processes discussed here are,
a. b. c. d.

Vaccum Forming. Thermoforming. Hydro Forming. Roll Forming.