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Improved quality and lower costs of industrial metal-forming and bending operations can often be achieved through the application of magnetic forming. In the Magneform process, the workpiece is not touched, but yet, high quality parts are formed without the disadvantages of traditional swaging, welding, pressing and hammering processes. In Magneform* systems, an electric current is used to generate a pulsed magnetic field which applies uniform force to a selected area of the workpiece. The force can create pressures of up to 50,000 psi which move the surface of the workpiece at several hundred feet per second to reshape and join without excessive heat or mechanical contact. Precise control of the magnetic pressure even allows for the formation of high velocity, impact bonds which are stronger than the surrounding parent material. This presentation provides an introduction to magnetic forming and describes several applications used in the automotive industry.

Recent technology developments have yielded double layer capacitor (DLC) products which store energy in the polarized liquid layer which forms when a potential exists between two electrodes immersed in electrolyte. Today's commercial DLC products are small, battery-like devices, generally using powdered carbon materials, which provide power during temporary failures of a primary power source. Maxwell Laboratories, Inc., a manufacturer of high energy density film capacitors, is working with the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and Auburn University to develop energy storage, capacitor products based upon double layer technology which uses electrode materials consisting of carbon and metal fibers in a sintered matrix configuration. Maxwell's ultimate goal is to mass produce an energy storage capacitor which will improve performance of an electric vehicle (EV) to the level of current internal combustion engines (ICE).