Water jet incremental sheet metal forming: a critical state-of-the-art review and a proposal for technological windows

Abstract

Nowadays the development of innovative processes is a major challenge for industries which want to prototype functional workpieces. Incremental sheet forming (ISF) is a good alternative for sheet metal prototyping to ensure flexibility, accuracy of the part produced, and cost effectiveness. A derived process, the Water Jet Incremental Sheet Forming (WJISF), has been undergoing development since 2001 and this paper purpose to give its state of the art. Different eclectic industrial fields could be concerned by WJISF process: automotive, micro-electronics, medical, and aerospace industry, for example. As the ISF process, the WJISF device needs a multi-axial machine, but it also needs a pressure pump with a sufficient flow rate and pressure. In an environmental point of view, this process can be seen as a “green” one giving that the water can be recycled and there is no lubricant. A general methodology has been defined to rigorously investigate this process and focus on researchers’ teams, technological feasibility, numerical simulations, machine-tool uses, and real parts manufacturing. The study presented here provides summarizing evidence, especially technological windows, which give quick view of the actual knowledges and will help scientists and industrials to find WJISF parameters related to their needs. A lot of simple tests have been carried out with numerical and experimental comparisons. Nevertheless, few real parts have been manufactured, and the complex shape obtained by WJISF remains a scientific field to explore.