Research On Flexible Forming Using Plasma Arc Controlled By Magnetic Field

The technology of flexible forming using plasma arc is developed as one of new forming technique of sheet metal, which can be applied in forming workpiece with V-shape precisely, and yet it is difficult to produce workpiece with large radius and smooth transition curve. To solve the problems mentioned above, according to the characteristics of which the plasma arc can be controlled by magnetic field, an alternating magnetic field is applied in the process of flexible forming of sheet metal to control the scope and the staying-time of plasma arc so as to control the extent and degree of deformation, then varying work piece with different radius can be acquired.In this paper, the following questions of flexible forming using plasma arc controlled by alternating magnetic field based on existing flexible forming using plasma arc are studied.(1) The movement characteristics of plasma in magnetic field is analyzed, then the alternating magnetic field is applied in the process of flexible forming of sheet metal using plasma arc ,and the research on the controlling mechanism is carried out.(2) Considering the complexity of parameters during the flexible forming using plasma arc controlled by alternating magnetic field, the temperature field, the stress field and the deformation field in the process of flexible forming are simulated with the help of program ANSYS, and the simulation is in the role of instruction in the following experiment.(3) The tester for controlling the plasma arc is set up. Through experiment, the multitudinous factors to the flexible forming using plasma arc controlled by alternating magnetic field are studied, and the proper processing parameters adapt to flexible forming are found out.(4) During experiment it is found that the flexible forming using plasma arc controlled by magnetic field is not only suitable to produce workpiece with large radius but also a method to improve the surface quality of forming parts.The research on the flexible forming using plasma arc controlled by magnetic field further promotes the scope of the technique of flexible forming using plasma arc, and makes the technique more suitable to the versatile and small-batch production.