Exploring deformation mechanics of temperature assisted incremental forming with hybrid heating

Abstract

The single point incremental forming (SPIF) process is a die-less rapid prototyping sheet metal forming method, extensively researched for over two decades. SPIF shows higher formability compared to conventional sheet forming methods. Deformation of materials such as magnesium (Mg) is favored at elevated temperatures due to their poor room temperature formability. Past studies have explored heat-assisted forming techniques to achieve improved formability in SPIF. However, the underlying mechanics of deformation is sparsely explored. The present work explores the mechanism of formability improvement based on thermal gradients for SPIF in hybrid heating. The SPIF experiments are conducted for a combination of local and global heating conditions achieved using tool contact friction and cartridge heaters. The local temperature, stress distributions, and limiting strains are obtained numerically. Fracture-forming limit diagrams (FFL) are developed, and numerical predictions are validated using experimental strain measurements under different forming conditions.