In electrohydraulic forming an electric arc discharge is used to convert electrical energy to mechanical energy.
A capacitor bank delivers a pulse of high current across two electrodes which are positioned a short distance apart while submerged in a fluid.
The electric arc discharge rapidly vaporizes the surrounding fluid creating a shock wave.
The workpiece which is kept in contact with the fluid is deformed into an evacuated die.
Electro hydraulic forming is a variation of the older more general explosive forming method.
The only fundamental difference between these two techniques is the energy source and subsequently the practical size of the forming event.
Very large capacitor banks are needed to produce the same amount of energy as a modest mass of high explosives.
This makes electro hydraulic forming very capital intensive for large parts. On the other hand the electro hydraulic method was seen as better suited to automation because of the fine control of multiple sequential energy discharges and the relative compactness of the electrode-media containment system.
Commentaires