Numerical and experimental study of stretching effect on flexible forming technology

Abstract

The flexible stretch forming technology (FSFT) is suitable for flexible manufacturing because it affords several advantages including applicability to various forming processes such as sheet metal forming, single curved surface forming, and quadratic curved surface forming. In this study, the formation of a quadratic curved surface with a saddle-type shape by the flexible stretch forming process is systematically investigated through a numerical simulation. A 4-mm-thick Al 3003-H14 aluminum alloy is used as the initial blank material. Urethane pads are defined based on a hyperelastic material model as a cushion for the smooth forming surface. The elastic recovery deformation behavior is also investigated to consider the exact result after the last forming process. The simulation indicates that the stretch forming process can be used to apply more stress to the blank and to reduce the elastic recovery effect. An experiment was then performed to confirm the process formability and reduction of the elastic recovery effect. A comparison of the objective surface between the simulation and the experimental results verified that the stretch forming process reduced the elastic recovery effect. This confirms that FSFT can be feasibly used to manufacture quadratic curved surfaces.