Gas forming of a deep drawn component for reshaping purposes

In the present work, the reshaping route is investigated by subjecting a 5754 deep drawn part (simulating an End-of-Life component) to a further deformation stage by gas forming, considered flexible enough to bring the End-of-Life to a new shape, thus eliminating the residual feature from the primary forming operation. The reshaping route was numerically simulated according to a sequential approach using the commercial finite element code Abaqus. Thanks to the numerical approach, it was possible to evaluate the properties of the reshaped part in terms of: i) the achieved strain; ii) the geometrical profile; iii) the thickness distribution. Moreover, it was possible to evaluate how the position of the deep drawn feature affected the properties of the reshaped part in terms of thickness uniformity and residuals from the primary forming operation. Being the working temperature one of the main parameters for the gas forming process, its effect was also investigated in order to find the best compromise between the energy demand of the reshaping process and the quality of the reshaped component.