Hydroironing: A Novel Ironing Method With A Higher Thickness Reduction

A new ironing method entitled hydroironing is proposed for producing cup shaped components especially those with lower formability to overcome the problem of low ironing limit ratio in the conventional ironing process. Lower ironing limit ratio in conventional ironing process increases the number of ironing stages and also manufacturing time and expenses. In this new method, unlike the conventional ironing process, forming punch is pushed to reduce the thickness from the inner surface of the cup starting from the cup edge while at the same time applying hydrostatic pressure onto the inner surface of the cup. The tools required for the proposed method were designed and manufactured and hydroironing tests were carried out. The results showed that a higher thickness reduction of about 70% was achieved only after a single hydroironing stage. The proposed hydroironing operation compared with the previous methods was observed to have three important advantages including higher thickness reduction, lower fluid pressure, and higher strength of ironed cup. This new process could be very promising for future industrial applications to reduce the product cost.