Warm forming processes for high-performance aluminum alloys for the automotive industry

A summary and description of the current automotive applications of aluminum alloys, heat treatment methods, and problems that may be encountered in warm forming are presented. A series of warm forming tests were carried out on the problem of generally low formability of aluminum alloys at room temperature. The mechanical properties of AA5083 and AA7046-T6 were studied and analyzed at different temperatures and tensile speeds in an attempt to find the best warm forming solution. The experiments showed that the hardness of both aluminum alloys was very slightly affected at the test temperature of this warm forming, and AA7046 had more sensitive warm forming properties.