State of the art automated chasing and repoussé through utilization of magnetic hammering

Abstract

Purpose The paper aims to design a process to mechanize traditional chasing and repoussé which is the art of creating an artistic pattern on a sheet metal by making high and low points through utilization of hammer and chisel. In scientific literature, it is a kind of incremental sheet metal forming. Design/methodology/approach In the designed process, a magnetic actuator is used as a hammer which converts electric energy into kinetic reciprocal impact energy, and hammering sequence is completely controlled via the designed software. The sheet is bound not to move easily. Then, a hammering mechanism is connected to the numerical control machine. As the magnetic hammer is moved gradually along the defined path, the sheet is chased gradually by controlling the consecutive impacts. Different methods of test sheet entanglement are also discussed to reduce noise and undesired deformations of sheet, and indents are also clarified. Findings The designed mechanism enables the user to form desired art patterns faster with more precision via the automated process. The hammering sequence is controlled via computer successfully. The designed magnetic actuator could be commercialized easily. Experiments show that the pitch under sheet is the best. Typical art patterns are chased successfully. Originality/value In incremental sheet metal punching, there was no control on hammering sequence before. In this process, the designed magnetic hammer is quite controllable. Also, it is easily attached to the computerized numerical control (CNC) and is suitable for commercial use. Furthermore, the stuff under sheet was not taken into consideration before.