Experimental investigation on thinning and forming force acting on multi-stage single point incremental forming

Abstract

Abstract. This paper describes a study of thinning and forming force in multi-stage single point incremental forming. Four process parameters namely pitch, tool diameter, blank thickness and initial draw angle are considered to study their influence on maximum thinning and peak forming force. Experiments are designed using face-centered composite design (CCD). Experimental results are analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA). It is found that initial draw angle is the most influencing parameter for maximum thinning, while peak forming force is most influenced by blank thickness. Maximum thinning decreases with decrease in initial draw angle and increase in blank thickness. Peak forming force decreases with decrease in blank thickness. Moreover, predictive models are developed for maximum thinning and peak forming force. Also, optimization of parameters is carried out to minimize thinning and forming force. The confirmation tests are performed to validate predictive model and optimization results.