Hole flanging with ironing of two-ply thick sheet metals

Abstract Two-ply sheet metals are used in the manufacturing of electronic equipment, chemical instruments, transportation works and so on. Two-ply sheet metals are generally composed of metals that have different mechanical properties. Thus the forming process of these materials is complicated. The forming characteristics in hole flanging with ironing for two-ply sheet metals were studied. An explosively welded Al/Cu bi-metallic sheet metal was used as a model material throughout the experiments. The thickness of the matrix A1 was 2.20 mm and that of the cladding Cu was 0.83 mm. A number of experiments were performed using a conical punch with a cone angle of 45°. The experimental results were compared with FEM-simulated results, from which it was demonstrated that the rigid–plastic FEM can be used effectively for predicting the forming process and the finished shape of bi-metallic sheet metals.