Deep drawing aluminum is like trying to stretch wet tissue paper. It wants to tear, and it loves to stick to the tooling.
For industries like Medical Devices and Electric Vehicles (EV), where weight reduction is critical, aluminum is the material of choice. But it comes with a unique set of headaches.
The Two Arch-Enemies: Galling & Tearing
1. Galling (Adhesion)
Aluminum is soft and "sticky." Under high pressure, it micro-welds to the steel die. As the next part is drawn, these welds break, ripping chunks out of the part surface.
Result:
Ugly scratches that ruin the anodized finish.
2. Tearing (Fracture)
Aluminum work-hardens, but it has lower tensile strength than steel. If the friction is too high or the draw ratio is too aggressive, the bottom punches through.
Result:
Catastrophic part failure and press downtime.
How We Solve It
TD Coating (Thermal Diffusion)
We coat our dies with Vanadium Carbide (VC). This creates a super-hard, ceramic-like surface that aluminum cannot stick to. It eliminates galling completely.
Specialized Lubricants
Standard oil isn't enough. We use high-viscosity, chlorinated drawing oils specifically formulated for aluminum to maintain a hydrodynamic film under extreme pressure.
Generous Radii
We advise customers to use a die radius of at least 8x material thickness for the first draw. This allows the material to flow rather than stretch.
Case Study: Medical Device Housing
Problem: A client needed a 150mm deep housing made of AL 5052 for a portable oxygen concentrator. Their previous supplier had a 20% scrap rate due to tearing.
Shengjie Solution: We redesigned the process from 2 draws to 3 draws, reducing the reduction ratio per step. We also polished the die to a mirror finish (Ra 0.05).
Result: Scrap rate dropped to 0.5%, and the parts went straight to anodizing with no hand polishing required.
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