Influence of anisotropy of the magnesium alloy AZ31 sheets on warm negative incremental forming

Single point incremental forming of the magnesium alloy AZ31 sheets, which were fabricated by hot extrusion, slab + hot/cold rolling, strip-casting rolling and cross-rolling, respectively, was investigated at elevated temperatures. The results show that the anisotropy of the sheets fabricated by casting slab + hot/cold rolling and cross-rolling is not remarkable, and the formability is improved significantly. The circular, square and rotary cone parts were performed with satisfactory surface quality and without any microcracks successfully, and which is superior to those of the extruded sheet and the one-way rolled sheet. Therefore, anisotropy of the sheets has remarkable effects on the surface quality of the formed parts, and the effect becomes weakened with increasing temperature. It is proposed that cross-rolling sheet is much more suitable for warm SPIF process. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.