Electromagnetic Hammer

At NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, ridges in an aluminum cylinder are easily formed by a large magnetic coil. The metal actually moves as the coil inside the cylinder exerts a strong magnetic pressure, which causes the aluminum to fow and allows the metal to be shaped like soft plastic. One practical application of magnetic forming is the electromagnetic hammer; used to correct weld distortion and booster components such as the the Saturn Bulkhead seen in the background. A smaller version was used in the manufacture of the Apollo command module. This technique is not only used in aerospace, but shows promise in shipbuilding as well.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/home/index.html

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• NASA
• Marshall
• Space
• Flight
• Center
• Electromagnetic
• Hammer
• Metalworking
• Saturn
• Bulkhead
• Apollo