A New Forming Strategy to Realise Parts Designed for Deep‐drawing by Incremental CNC Sheet Forming

Investigation of control of the incremental forming processes

Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) is a sheet metal forming process, which relies on minimum part-specific tooling. Extra Deep Drawn (EDD) steel has been used for making door inners, dash panels, bodyside inners, etc. due to its good weldability and relatively low yield strength. However, to date very limited work is reported on ISF of EDD steel. Besides, no work, which exhaustively discusses the practicability of EDD steel for effectual incremental forming of components, is found to be reported. The present work discusses the ISF of EDD steel sheets and examines the limitations of ISF in forming the parts out of 1.0 mm thick EDD steel sheets. Two geometries, i.e., ellipsoidal cone (with varying wall angle) and truncated cone (with constant wall angle) were used as test cases to evaluate the formability of EDD steel sheets, in terms of Critical Wall Angle (CWA). Further, the formability of EDD steel with ISF is evaluated using both strain-based and stress-based forming limit curves. The thickness distribution, geometrical accuracy, forming forces, and surface roughness and hardness are evaluated in the formed components. The work, through numerical simulations and experimental analyses, investigates the process capabilities of ISF to form the EDD steel sheets in terms of formability, thickness distribution, geometrical accuracy, forming forces, and surface roughness and hardness to ascertain the scope of the proposed process.

Lightweight materials, such as titanium alloys, magnesium alloys, and aluminium alloys, are characterised by unusual combinations of high strength, corrosion resistance, and low weight. However, some of the grades of these alloys exhibit poor formability at room temperature, which limits their application in sheet metal-forming processes. Lightweight materials are used extensively in the automobile and aerospace industries, leading to increasing demands for advanced forming technologies. This article presents a brief overview of state-of-the-art methods of incremental sheet forming (ISF) for lightweight materials with a special emphasis on the research published in 2015–2021. First, a review of the incremental forming method is provided. Next, the effect of the process conditions (i.e., forming tool, forming path, forming parameters) on the surface finish of drawpieces, geometric accuracy, and process formability of the sheet metals in conventional ISF and thermally-assisted ISF variants are considered. Special attention is given to a review of the effects of contact conditions between the tool and sheet metal on material deformation. The previous publications related to emerging incremental forming technologies, i.e., laser-assisted ISF, water jet ISF, electrically-assisted ISF and ultrasonic-assisted ISF, are also reviewed. The paper seeks to guide and inspire researchers by identifying the current development trends of the valuable contributions made in the field of SPIF of lightweight metallic materials.

Incremental sheet forming (ISF) is a promising flexible manufacturing process, which has been tested in sheet forming of various metallic materials. Although ISF-based forming of thermoplastics is relatively new, it has drawn considerable interests and significant progress has been made in recent years. This paper presents a review of concurrent research on the emerging trend of thermoplastic-focused ISF processes. Attention is given to the processing conditions including process setup, process parameters and forming forces. The deformation mechanism and failure behaviour during ISF of thermoplastics are evaluated, which leads to detailed discussions on the formability, effect of different process parameters and the forming quality such as geometric accuracy, surface finish and other consideration factors in ISF of thermoplastics. A comparison of important similarities and differences between ISF of thermoplastic and metallic materials is made. Finally, a brief discussion is provided on the technical challenges and research directions for ISF of thermoplastic materials in the future.

Process Investigation of Incremental Sheet Forming: The Evolution Towards Multi-Pass Deformation Design

Investigation of control strategies for fracture prevention in the multi-point incremental sheet forming process

Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) is a manufacturing technology for individualized and small batch production. Among the opportunities this technology provides there is the possibility of a short ramp-up time and to cover the whole production chain of sheet metal parts by using a single reconfigurable machine set-up. Since recent developments proved that manufacturing of industrial parts is feasible, finishing operations such as flanging and trimming gain importance, which are an integral part of manufacturing process chains of many sheet metal parts. This paper analyses the technological capabilities of performing flanging operations by ISF. Due to the localized forming zone and the absence of surrounding clamping devices, ISF exhibits a different material flow than conventional flanging processes. In this paper, the influence of the tool path characteristics, the flange length as well as the flange radius is analysed in order to establish a process window and to compare it to the process limits of conventional flanging operations. Since geometrical deviations occur when flanging operations are performed by ISF, a new adaptive blank holder is developed, which acts in the vicinity of the forming tool and reduces unwanted deformation outside the primary forming zone. The experimental results show the benefits of the adaptive blank holder with respect to geometric accuracy. The established process window and the adaptive blank holder hence contribute to the applicability of incremental flanging operations, such that ISF can be used for all forming and flanging operations along the process chain.

Experimental and numerical study on the deformation mechanism of straight flanging by incremental sheet forming

Amidst increasing governmental regulations and global initiatives to decarbonize manufacturing, there is a growing emphasis on environmentally sustainable, energy-efficient, and cost-effective production methods. Sheet-forming processes have made it possible to manufacture a variety of products we use and depend on in today’s globalized world, in the automotive, aerospace, medical, and food industries. Stamping or deep drawing are the preferred sheet-forming methods for mass-producing thin sheet parts due to its high production rate. However, the process involves high costs associated with the fabrication of specific dies for each part. Incremental sheet forming (ISF) has emerged as a promising technique and has gained widespread recognition as an alternative to traditional sheet forming. Researchers have studied ISF for the past decades, addressing and exploring alternatives to optimize the technique. Single-point incremental forming (SPIF) is one of the most popular ISF approaches because it can be accomplished using a CNC machine, a sheet clamp, and a small forming tool to make a wide variety of products of different shapes and materials. However, the technology’s cost-saving potential needs to be better understood, and predictive models must be improved to assess the process flows required to make parts using ISF. The cost prediction model presented in this work is intended to break down the cost dependencies of the ISF process to estimate a predetermined cost for each part before it is manufactured, considering material preparation, forming, and post-processing operations. A step forward in sheet forming research will be to provide a process-based cost model that can be flexible and adaptable to different types of machinery and tooling utilized. Cost calculations of a part made with ISF require knowledge of the systema as whole, such as forming process parameters, equipment characteristics, and forming geometry capabilities. The model relies on gathering process-based costs, including facilities, labor, equipment, materials, tools, consumables, and utilities, for all factors necessary to produce parts using ISF. The process-based cost model in this work involves an analytical bottom-up cost calculation methodology that is flexible and adaptable to various machine types. The ISF process is flexible, which means that the cycle time for different parts can vary by a considerable amount depending on the process parameters chosen (e.g., step down and feed rate) and the fixture and tools used. The aim of the present work is to lay the foundation for predicting the cost-effectiveness of products produced via the ISF process by considering the key processes involved. By gaining deeper insights into all costs involved in ISF and other innovative, environmentally friendly production methods, more sustainable manufacturing practices can be facilitated. These findings will contribute to global efforts to reduce carbon emissions, support responsible consumption and production, and benefit people, economy, and environment.

In incremental sheet forming (ISF), including single point incremental forming (SPIF) and double side incremental forming (DSIF), the material formability can be significantly enhanced when compared with conventional sheet forming processes. The material deformation in ISF is far more complicated because of the combined material deformation under stretching, bending, shearing, and cyclic loading, with an additional effect of compression in DSIF. Despite extensive investigation on material deformation during ISF, no theory has yet been widely agreed to explain different types of the material fracture behavior observed in ISF experiments. This paper presents a comprehensive review on the formability enhancement in ISF and proposes possible fracture mechanisms explaining the different types of fracture behavior observed in the experimental investigations. Discussions are presented to outline the current research progress and possible solutions to overcome the current ISF process limitations because of the material processing failure due to fracture.

This paper deals with Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF), a sheet metal forming process, that knew a wide development in the last years. It consists of a simple hemispherical tool that, moving along a defined path by means of either a CNC machine or a robot or a self designed device, locally deforms a metal sheet. A lot of experimental and simulative researches have been conducted in this field with different aims: to study the sheet formability and part feasibility as a function of the process parameters; to define models able to forecast the final sheet thickness as a function of the drawing angle and tool path strategy; to understand how the sheet deforms and how formability limits can be defined. Nowadays, a lot of these topics are still open. In this paper, the results obtained from an experimental campaign performed to study sheet formability and final part feasibility are reported. The ISF tests were conducted deforming FeP04 deep drawing steel sheet 0.8 mm thick and analyzing the influence of the tool path strategy and of the adopted ISF technique (Single Point Incremental Forming Vs. Two Points Incremental Forming). The part feasibility and formability were evaluated considering final sheet thickness, geometrical errors of the final part, maximum wall angle and depth at which the sheet breaks. Moreover, process forces measurements were carried out by means of a specific device developed by the Authors, allowing to obtain important information about the load acting on the deforming device and necessary for deforming sheet.

A strain-based forming limit criterion is widely used in sheet-metal forming industry to predict necking. However, this criterion is usually valid when the strain path is linear throughout the deformation process [1]. Strain path in incremental sheet forming is often found to be severely nonlinear throughout the deformation history. Therefore, the practice of using a strain-based forming limit criterion often leads to erroneous assessments of formability and failure prediction. On the other hands, stress-based forming limit is insensitive against any changes in the strain path and hence it is first used to model the necking limit in incremental sheet forming. The stress-based forming limit is also combined with the fracture limit based on maximum shear stress criterion to show necking and fracture together. A derivation for a general mapping method from strain-based FLC to stress-based FLC using a non-quadratic yield function has been made. Simulation model is evaluated for a single point incremental forming using AA 6022-T43, and checked the accuracy against experiments. By using the path-independent necking and fracture limits, it is able to explain the deformation mechanism successfully in incremental sheet forming. The proposed model has given a good scientific basis for the development of ISF under nonlinear strain path and its usability over conventional sheet forming process as well.

Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) has been developed as a flexible manufacturing technology for small batch production and prototyping. ISF can also be used to form additional features or stiffening elements such as hole flanges. Incremental Hole Flanging (IHF) operations seem to be a promising alternative to conventional hole flanging. If it was possible to exploit the extended formability of ISF while achieving accuracy and process times of conventional hole flanging, IHF could substitute conventional flanging operations in many cases. However, the long process times and limited geometrical accuracy hinder industrial take-up. In this work, two different tooling concepts which allow incremental hole flanging operations at high speeds are investigated. The first tool is designed as a single forming tool that offers high flexibility and a comparison to conventional Incremental Hole Flanging. The second tool consists of four forming tools to improve the geometrical accuracy of hole flanges. In order to achieve high speeds, the experimental setup is installed on a turning machine. Compared to hole flanging with a conventional CNC machine, the forming time to expand a hole from 50 mm to 100 mm could be reduced from 1680 s to 15.7 s. The geometrical accuracy of the parts formed with the second tool concept could be improved significantly (up to 3 times regarding to the mean surface deviation to at maximum speed). Furthermore, it is shown that forming at high speeds has no significant influence on the characteristics of sheet thickness, strain, forces or geometrical accuracy.

Shear modified Lemaitre damage model for fracture prediction during incremental sheet forming

Evaluation of uncoupled ductile damage models for fracture prediction in incremental sheet metal forming