Effect of process parameters on deep drawing of Ti-6Al-4V alloy using finite element analysis

Deep drawing process depends on the large number of process parameters and their interdependence. Optimization of process parameters in deep drawing is a vital task to reduce manufacturing cost and understand their influence on the deformation behaviour of the sheet metal. In this paper, significance of important process parameters namely, punch speed, blank holder pressure (BHP) and temperature on the deep-drawing characteristics of a Ti-6Al-4V alloy are investigated. Taguchi technique was employed to identify the influence of these parameters on thickness distribution. The finite element model of deep drawing process has been built up and analyzed using Dynaform version 5.6.1 with LS-Dyna version 971 as solver. Based on the predicted thickness distribution of the deep drawn circular cup and analysis of variance (ANOVA) results, it is concluded that punch speed has the greatest influence on the deep drawing of Ti-6Al-4V alloy blank sheet. Temperature and BHP effect are negligible in deep drawing of Ti-6A...