Simulation and analysis of hot forging process of 7075 aluminum alloy for ultrasonic welding horn

Abstract

Traditional ultrasonic welding horns are primarily manufactured through CNC machining, which often leads to material wastage and non-uniform microstructure. This study explores an alternative hot forging-based manufacturing process for ultrasonic welding horns using 7075 aluminum alloy. The forming process, temperature variation, and microstructure evolution were simulated using finite element modeling (FEM) in QForm 10, considering key forging parameters such as temperature, deformation, and grain refinement. The results demonstrate that the proposed hot forging method significantly reduces material waste (by 58.41% compared to CNC machining), enhances grain refinement (from 250 µm to 60 µm), and improves mechanical properties. The study confirms the feasibility of using hot forging for mass production of ultrasonic welding horns while ensuring superior structural integrity and performance.