Patent ID: 7802457

Claim:
An electrohydraulic forming (EHF) method for forming a sheet metal blank in a EHF tool that has (1) a vessel defining a vessel cavity having an opening on an upper end, (2) at least two electrodes disposed within the vessel cavity, (3) a binder disposed above the opening in the vessel, the binder holding a bottom side of the blank, wherein a binder cavity is defined by the blank, the binder, and the upper end of the vessel, and (4) a forming die disposed above the binder, the forming die holding a top side of the blank, the forming die having a die cavity that is partially defined by a forming surface, the method comprising: filling the vessel cavity at least up to the upper end with a liquid; evacuating air from the binder and die cavities; producing a high voltage discharge between the electrodes that induces a shockwave in the liquid, the shockwave forming the blank against the forming surface in the die cavity.