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Explosive forming
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Explosive forming is a metalworking technique in which an explosive charge is used instead of a punch or press. It can be used on materials for which a press setup would be prohibitively large or require an unreasonably high pressure, and is generally much cheaper than building a large enough and sufficiently high-pressure press; on the other hand, it is unavoidably an individual job production process, producing one product at a time and with a long setup time. There are various approaches; one is to place metal plate over a die, with the intervening space evacuated by a vacuum pump, place the whole assembly underwater, and detonate a charge at an appropriate distance from the plate. For complicated shapes, a segmented die can be used to produce in a single operation a shape that would require many manufacturing steps, or to be manufactured in parts and welded together with an accompanying loss of strength at the welds. There is often some degree of work hardening from the explosive-forming process, particularly in mild steel.
Tooling
[edit]Tooling can be made out of fiberglass for short-run applications, out of concrete for large parts at medium pressures, or out of ductile iron for high-pressure work; ideally the tooling should have higher yield strength than the material that is being formed, which is a problem since the technique is usually only considered for material which is itself very hard to work.
History
[edit]The first commercial industrial application of explosive forming in the United States began in 1950 and was used into the 1970s by The Moore Company in Marceline, Missouri. The purpose was to form proprietary shaped metal cylinders for use as the central structure of industrial axial vane fans. This is detailed in a 1967 N.A.S.A. publication "High-Velocity Metalworking - a survey" at pages 73, 82 & 83. This article misstates the name of company founder Robert David Moore Sr. as "E. R. Moore". Moore ultimately did hold some patents for involved processes.[1]
Explosive forming was used in the 1960s for aerospace applications, such as the chine plates of the SR-71 reconnaissance plane and various Soviet rocket parts; it continued to be developed in Russia, and the organizing committees of such events as EPNM tend to contain many members from the former Soviet Union. It proved particularly useful for making high-strength corrugated parts which would otherwise have to be milled out of ingots much larger than the finished product. An example would be a yacht constructor who produced boat hulls by making a concrete "swimming pool" into which sheet-metal was placed, and when water filled and explosively fired, produced a complete hull-form.[2]
Other uses of explosives for manufacturing take advantage of the shaped charge effect, putting the explosive directly in contact with the metal to be worked; this was used for engraving of thick iron plates as early as the 1890s. See also explosively formed projectiles for a variety of military applications of the same kind of technology.
Explosive forming of vacuum tube anode (plate) materials
[edit]In the late 1950s, the General Electric company developed an application for five-layer sheet metal composites that had been created using the explosive forming process. GE engineers used this innovative composite material to produce multi-layer vacuum tube anodes (aka "plates") with superior heat transfer characteristics. This characteristic allowed GE to build significantly higher power vacuum tubes from existing designs without expensive engineering, design, and tooling changes, providing a substantial competitive market advantage to GE in the burgeoning Hi-Fi amplifier market.
In January 1960 it was reported in contemporary GE technical literature[3] that this five-layer material was the design breakthrough which made possible the new 6L6GC. The 6L6GC was a 6L6 variant able to dissipate 26% more power compared to the otherwise identically constructed 6L6GB. According to General Electric engineer R.E. Moe, then Manager of Engineering at G.E,'s Owensboro Kentucky facility,[4] these increases were made possible by the application of the improved multi-layer plate material.
GE sourced this material from a Texas-based firm (Texas Instruments[5]) which is reported to be the source of the explosively forged five-layer raw material specified by General Electric engineers. This manufacturer used explosive sheet metal forging processes previously developed for another customer (possibly the U.S. Navy?) The explosively formed dissimilar materials had substantially improved evenness of heat transfer thanks to the copper center layer.
GE engineers quickly saw the potential for improved heat transfer characteristics in several already popular pentode and beam tetrode vacuum tube designs, including the 6L6GB, the 7189, and eventually the 6550. The application of the five-layer (Al-Fe-Cu-Fe-Al) material to anode manufacture solved the problem of irregular heat buildup at high power levels in the anode plates of power pentodes, tetrodes, and triodes. This irregular heat buildup leads to physical distortion of the tube's plate. if allowed to continue, this spot overheating eventually results in warpage which allows physical contact and subsequent short circuits between the plate, grids, and beam formers in the tube. Such contact shorts destroy the tube.
General Electric's novel application of this innovative composite led to the creation of the 7189A variant, released in late 1959, along with the 6L6GC and other variants. By 1969, the 6550A variant had also been developed to take advantage of explosively forged composites. GE's application allowed for improved power levels in a number of already popular tube designs, an innovation which helped pave the way for substantially higher power vacuum tube stereo and musical instrument amplifiers in the 1960s and early 1970s.
References
[edit]- ^ Michael C. Noland; Howard M. Gadberry; John B. Loser; Eldon C. Sneegas (1967). High-velocity Metalworking: A Survey. Technology Utilization Division, National Aeronautics and Space Administration. pp. 73, 82, 83.
- ^ "Explosive forming of boats - ABC Beyond 2000 - YouTube". www.youtube.com. 18 March 2012. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
- ^ http://n4trb.com/AmateurRadio/GE_HamNews/issues/GE%20Ham%20News%20Vol%2015%20No%201.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://n4trb.com/AmateurRadio/GE_HamNews/issues/GE%20Ham%20News%20Vol%2015%20No%201.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Tubes Asylum".
GE Ham News, Vol 15, No. 1, Jan-Feb 1960, pp 1, pp 7, P.E. Hatfield, R.E. Moe
External links
[edit]Explosive forming
View on GrokipediaProcess Overview
Definition and Principles
Explosive forming is a high-energy-rate metalworking technique that utilizes controlled explosions to deform sheet or plate materials into complex shapes through the propagation of shock waves. In this process, an explosive charge is detonated near or on the workpiece, which is typically clamped over a die, generating a sudden release of energy that drives plastic deformation without the need for mechanical punches or presses.[6][7] The core principles of explosive forming revolve around the generation and transmission of shock waves through a coupling medium, such as air or water, to apply transient high pressures to the workpiece. Upon detonation, the explosive produces a shock front that propagates at supersonic speeds, imparting an impulse that exceeds the material's yield strength and induces rapid plastic flow. This pressure can reach magnitudes up to approximately MPa, enabling the forming of intricate geometries with minimal springback due to the high strain rates involved, which are on the order of to s.[7][6][8] A key aspect of the physics underlying this process is the detonation pressure generated by the explosive, approximated by the Chapman-Jouguet theory as where is the density of the explosive, is the detonation velocity, and is the adiabatic index of the detonation products. This pressure wave transmits through the medium to the workpiece, causing it to accelerate and conform to the die surface via inertial forces. The efficiency of energy transfer depends on the medium's acoustic impedance matching with the metal, with water often preferred for its higher density and ability to prolong the pressure pulse.[9][10][8] The process requires workpiece materials with sufficient ductility to accommodate high strain rates without fracturing, such as aluminum, steel, or titanium and their alloys, which exhibit enhanced formability under dynamic loading compared to conventional methods.[6][7]Types of Explosive Forming
Explosive forming processes are broadly classified by the configuration of the explosive charge relative to the workpiece, distinguishing between contact and standoff methods. In the contact method, the explosive is placed directly against the workpiece, enabling rapid and intense energy transfer that generates pressures exceeding 1,000,000 psi, which is particularly effective for applications like tube bulging or flaring where full shock wave utilization is needed.[8] However, this approach carries a higher risk of workpiece rupture and die failure due to the concentrated force.[2] The standoff method, by contrast, positions the explosive at a distance—typically 2 to 10 inches—from the workpiece, allowing the shock wave to propagate through a medium and deform the material at velocities around 120 m/s, offering greater control and safety for larger sheets or plates.[2][8] Processes are further categorized as free-form or confined-form based on die usage. Free-form forming operates without a die or with an open-ended die, relying on the inherent pressure pulse to create simple geometries such as domes, cylinders, or elliptical shapes, which is advantageous for prototyping or low-precision parts.[1] Confined-form forming, however, employs closed dies to guide deformation into precise, complex contours, achieving tolerances as tight as ±0.001 inches and supporting intricate designs that conventional presses cannot handle.[8] This variant requires careful pressure calibration to avoid die erosion or incomplete filling.[1] Medium-based variants influence shock wave coupling and uniformity. Underwater explosive forming uses water to transmit the detonation energy, leveraging the medium's low compressibility for even pressure distribution across the workpiece surface, which enhances formability for thick materials and reduces the required explosive charge by up to 80% compared to air.[8][1] Air-shock forming transmits the wave through air, producing lower peak pressures suitable for thinner sheets but resulting in shorter pulse durations and less efficient energy transfer, often necessitating larger charges.[2][8] Chamber setups vary between vacuum and atmospheric environments to optimize wave transmission. Vacuum chambers remove air pockets between the workpiece and die, minimizing oxidation and back pressure while improving precision for thin materials, though they add setup complexity and cost.[8] Atmospheric chambers operate in air- or water-filled conditions without evacuation, simplifying operations but potentially leading to uneven transmission if gas entrapment occurs, particularly in confined setups where the workpiece occupies over 50% of the die volume.[1][8]| Type | Pros | Cons | Shape Complexity & Material Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standoff (Air) | Safer distance reduces rupture risk; simple setup for medium-scale parts. | Lower efficiency requires larger charges; shorter pressure pulse limits uniformity. | Simple to moderate shapes; thinner materials (e.g., sheets up to 18-gauge aluminum).[1][8] |
| Standoff (Water) | Uniform pressure for large areas; 80% less explosive needed; low noise. | Requires water containment and submersion rigging; higher facility demands. | Complex shapes possible; thick materials (e.g., large plates for steel up to several inches).[2][8] |
| Contact | Maximum energy transfer; efficient for small, precise deformations. | High rupture and die failure risk; unsuitable for large/thick parts. | Moderate complexity; limited to thinner tubes/sheets.[2][1] |
| Free-Form | No die needed for simple shapes; cost-effective tooling savings up to 80%. | Limited precision; radial energy loss reduces control. | Simple geometries only (e.g., domes); various thicknesses, no strict limits.[1][8] |
| Confined-Form | High precision (±0.001 in.); supports intricate contours. | Complex die design; pressure management critical to avoid erosion. | High complexity; thin to moderate thicknesses with tight tolerances.[8][1] |
