Abstract
Long cups of magnesium alloy were formed at ambient temperatures by multi-stage deep drawing processes. In general, typical uses of magnesium alloys are for automobile and aircraft components, portable device, luggage, and care goods. However, magnesium alloys are difficult to plastically deform at room temperature. This is due to the hexagonal close-packed structure restricts slip to the basal planes. On the other hand, Mg-Li alloys, which have the BCC crystal structure, can be formed at room temperature. In multi-stage deep drawing, the Mg-Li alloy sheets were employed and a flat sheet blank is formed into a cylindrical by a punch. Various cups were drawn by exchanging the punch and ringed die. The die was flat in the first stage, and was taper without a blankholder in the subsequent stages. The effects of the ratio of blank diameter to punch diameter and blank thickness on the deep drawability were examined. It was confirmed that the Mg-Li alloy long-cups were successfully formed by a multi-stage deep drawing operation in cold.
