A numerical investigation to the strategies of the localised heating for micro-part stamping

Local heating renders attractive characteristics for achieving high efficiency of metal forming. With reference to micro-part stamping, two localised-heating methods, electrical heating and laser-heating, are investigated with FE simulation. Results show that electrical heating would result in an advantageous distribution of the temperature in a steel work-material. A desired temperature distribution may also be achievable for a copper work-material, if a high-powered laser beam is used. Both electrical heating and laser-heating enable reduction of the stamping force and increase of the aspect ratio that is achievable by stamping. The simulation also demonstrates that both electrical heating and laser-heating are able to result in the desired temperature-distributions at sufficiently high heating-rates and that the methods are easy to be implemented. The comparison further shows that electrical heating is more favourable for engineering applications.