Effects of Tool Deflection in Accumulated Double-Sided Incremental Forming Regarding Part Geometry

Author(s):  
Huaqing Ren ◽  
Newell Moser ◽  
Zixuan Zhang ◽  
Kornel F. Ehmann ◽  
Jian Cao

Incremental forming is a flexible dieless forming process. In incremental forming, the metal sheet is clamped around its periphery. One or multiple generic stylus-type tools move along a predefined toolpath, incrementally deforming the sheet metal into a final, freeform shape. Compared with the traditional sheet metal forming process, the incremental forming process is more flexible, energy efficient and cost effective due to lower capital investment related to tooling. However, maintaining tight geometric tolerances in incremental formed parts can be a challenge. Specifically, undesired global bending is usually induced near the region between the tools and fixture resulting in a compromise in geometric accuracy. To address this issue, Accumulated Double-Sided Incremental Forming (ADSIF) is proposed, which utilizes two tools on both sides of the metal to better achieve localized deformation while simultaneously constraining global bending outside the forming area. Moreover, in ADSIF, the two tools are moving from inward to outward, and thus the tools are always forming virgin material and so as to limit forces on the already-formed part. Thus, ADSIF has a higher potential to achieve the desired geometry. Nevertheless, tool deflection due to machine compliance is still an issue that can have a considerable effect on geometric accuracy. In this work, the effect of tool deflection related to part geometry is studied for the ADSIF process. The nature of using two tools, rather than one, in ADSIF inherently implies that relative tool position is a critical process parameter. It is the region near these two tools where local squeezing and bending of the sheet occurs, the primary modes of deformation found in ADSIF. The change of relative tool positions (i.e., tool gap and relative position angle) are studied in detail by first developing an analytical model. It is concluded that the tool gap will be enlarged under the influence of tool compliance while the relative position angle is less affected. Additionally, a finite element simulation capable of modeling tool deflection is established. The comparison between the simulation results using rigid tools and deformable ones clearly demonstrated the significant influence of tool compliance on part geometry. Lastly, an axisymmetric part with varying wall angles was formed, and it was confirmed that ADSIF demonstrates improved geometry accuracy compared with conventional Double-Sided Incremental Forming.

Author(s):  
Zachary C. Reese ◽  
Brandt J. Ruszkiewicz ◽  
Chetan P. Nikhare ◽  
John T. Roth

Incremental forming is a nontraditional forming method in which a spherical tool is used to asymmetrically deform sheet metal without the need for expensive allocated dies. Incremental forming employs a tool path similar to that used when CNC milling. Hence, when forming a part, the forming tool makes a series of passes circumferentially around the workpiece, gradually spirally stepping down in the z-axis on each sequential pass. This tool path deforms the sheet metal stock into the final, desired shape. These passes can start from the outer radius of the part and work in (Out to In, OI forming) or they can start from the center of the shape and work outward (In to Out, IO forming). As with many sheet metal operations, springback is a big concern during the incremental forming process. During the deformation process, residual stresses are created within the workpiece causing the final formed shape to springback when it is unclamped, sometimes very significantly. The more complex the geometry of the final part and the more total deformation that occurs when forming the geometry, the greater the residual stresses that are generated within the part. The residual stresses that have built up in the piece cause more significant distortion to the part when it is released from the retaining fixturing. This paper examines how the step size (in the z direction), OI vs. IO forming, and final part geometry affect the total springback in a finished piece. For all of these tests 0.5 mm thick sheets of 2024-T3 aluminum were used to form both the truncated pyramid and truncated cone shape. From this investigation it was found that smaller step sizes result in greater springback, IO is significantly less effective in forming the part (due to workpiece tearing), and final part geometry plays an important role due to the creation of residual stresses that exist in corners.


Author(s):  
Rakesh Lingam ◽  
Anirban Bhattacharya ◽  
Javed Asghar ◽  
N. Venkata Reddy

Incremental Sheet Metal Forming (ISMF) is a flexible sheet metal forming process that enables forming of complex three dimensional components by successive local deformations without using component specific tooling. ISMF is also regarded as die-less manufacturing process and in the absence of part-specific dies, geometric accuracy of formed components is inferior to that of their conventional counterparts. In Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF), the simplest variant of ISMF, bending near component opening region is unavoidable due to lack of support. The bending in the component opening region can be reduced to a larger extent by another variant of ISMF namely Double Sided Incremental Forming (DSIF) in which a moving tool is used to support the sheet locally at the deformation zone. However the overall geometry of formed components still has unacceptable deviation from the desired geometry. Experimental observation and literature indicates that the supporting tool loses contact with the sheet after forming certain depth. Present work demonstrates a methodology to enhance geometric accuracy of formed components by compensating for tool and sheet deflection due to forming forces. Forming forces necessary to predict compensations are obtained using force equilibrium method along with thickness calculation methodology developed using overlap that occurs during forming (instead of using sine law). Results indicate that there is significant improvement in accuracy of the components produced using compensated tool paths.


2013 ◽  
Vol 554-557 ◽  
pp. 1375-1381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Giraud-Moreau ◽  
Abel Cherouat ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
Houman Borouchaki

Recently, new sheet metal forming technique, incremental forming has been introduced. It is based on using a single spherical tool, which is moved along CNC controlled tool path. During the incremental forming process, the sheet blank is fixed in sheet holder. The tool follows a certain tool path and progressively deforms the sheet. Nowadays, numerical simulations of metal forming are widely used by industry to predict the geometry of the part, stresses and strain during the forming process. Because incremental forming is a dieless process, it is perfectly suited for prototyping and small volume production [1, 2]. On the other hand, this process is very slow and therefore it can only be used when a slow series production is required. As the sheet incremental forming process is an emerging process which has a high industrial interest, scientific efforts are required in order to optimize the process and to increase the knowledge of this process through experimental studies and the development of accurate simulation models. In this paper, a comparison between numerical simulation and experimental results is realized in order to assess the suitability of the numerical model. The experimental investigation is realized using a three-axis CNC milling machine. The forming tool consists in a cylindrical rotating punch with a hemispherical head. A subroutine has been developed to describe the tool path from CAM procedure. A numerical model has been developed to simulate the sheet incremental forming process. The finite element code Abaqus explicit has been used. The simulation of the incremental forming process stays a complex task and the computation time is often prohibitive for many reasons. During this simulation, the blank is deformed by a sequence of small increments that requires many numerical increments to be performed. Moreover, the size of the tool diameter is generally very small compared to the size of the metal sheet and thus the contact zone between the tool and the sheet is limited. As the tool deforms almost every part of the sheet, small elements are required everywhere in the sheet resulting in a very high computation time. In this paper, an adaptive remeshing method has been used to simulate the incremental forming process. This strategy, based on adaptive refinement and coarsening procedures avoids having an initially fine mesh, resulting in an enormous computing time. Experiments have been carried out using aluminum alloy sheets. The final geometrical shape and the thickness profile have been measured and compared with the numerical results. These measurements have allowed validating the proposed numerical model. References [1] M. Yamashita, M. Grotoh, S.-Y. Atsumi, Numerical simulation of incremental forming of sheet metal, J. Processing Technology, No. 199 (2008), p. 163 172. [2] C. Henrard, A.M. Hbraken, A. Szekeres, J.R. Duflou, S. He, P. Van Houtte, Comparison of FEM Simulations for the Incremental Forming Process, Advanced Materials Research, 6-8 (2005), p. 533-542.


2010 ◽  
Vol 154-155 ◽  
pp. 166-170
Author(s):  
Gai Pin Cai ◽  
Ning Yuan Zhu ◽  
Na Wen

As a non-homogenous force stresses during incremental forming, sheet metal easily tended to instability, and some defects, such as deposition, wrinkle and fracture, would appear. If the vibration technique was combined the incremental forming process, its deformation mechanism would be different from that of the old process, and sheet metal deformation quality was also risen. Then some mechanical equations were built by force analyzed on element in local contact zone of die head forcing down. According to reasonable hypothesis and simplified, the equations were solved. Some stress-time curves of the element were obtained by given process parameters, vibrational parameters and time parameters. It is shown from analysis that stress variety of the element is closely related to amplitude, frequency and forming angle, effect of sheet metal vibration incremental forming with high frequency vibration is more superior than that of with low frequency vibration; only when vibrational parameters are reasonably matching technical parameters, the effective vibration incremental forming can be obtained.


2018 ◽  
Vol 783 ◽  
pp. 148-153
Author(s):  
Muhammad Sajjad ◽  
Jithin Ambarayil Joy ◽  
Dong Won Jung

Incremental sheet metal forming, is a non-conventional machining process which offers higher formability, flexibility and low cost of production than the traditional conventional forming process. Punch or tool used in this forming process consecutively forces the sheet to deform locally and ultimately gives the target profile. Various machining parameters, such as type of tool, tool path, tool size, feed rate and mechanical properties of sheet metal, like strength co-efficient, strain hardening index and ultimate tensile strength, effects the forming process and the formability of final product. In this research paper, Single Point Incremental Forming was simulated using Dassault system’s Abaqus 6.12-1 and results are obtained. Results of sheet profile and there change in thickness is investigated. For this paper, we simulated the process in abaqus. The tool diameter and rotational speed is find out for the production of parts through incremental forming. The simulation is done for two type of material with different mechanical properties. Various research papers were used to understand the process of incremental forming and its simulation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 343 ◽  
pp. 04007
Author(s):  
Mihai Popp ◽  
Gabriela Rusu ◽  
Sever-Gabriel Racz ◽  
Valentin Oleksik

Single point incremental forming is one of the most intensely researched die-less manufacturing process. This process implies the usage of a CNC equipment or a serial robot which deforms a sheet metal with the help of a relatively simple tool that follows an imposed toolpath. As every cold metal forming process, besides the many given advantages it has also some drawbacks. One big drawback in comparison with other cold metal forming processes is the low accuracy of the deformed parts. The aim of this research is to investigate the sheet metal bending mechanism through finite element method analysis. The results shows that the shape of the retaining rings has a big influence over the final geometrical accuracy of the parts manufactured through single point incremental forming.


Author(s):  
Rui Xu ◽  
Huaqing Ren ◽  
Zixuan Zhang ◽  
Rajiv Malhotra ◽  
Jian Cao

Incremental sheet forming has attracted considerable attention in the recent past due to advantages that include high process flexibility and higher formability as compared to conventional forming processes. However, attaining required geometric accuracy of the formed part is one of the major issues plaguing this process. The Double-Sided Incremental Forming process has emerged as a potential process variant which can preserve the process flexibility while maintaining required geometric accuracy. This paper investigates a mixed toolpath for Double-Sided Incremental Forming which is able to simultaneously achieve good geometric accuracy and higher throughput than is currently possible. The geometries of parts formed using the mixed toolpath strategy are compared to the desired geometry. Furthermore, an examination of the forming forces is used to uncover the reasons for experimentally observed trends. Future work in this area is also discussed.


2014 ◽  
Vol 494-495 ◽  
pp. 497-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jin Han Wu ◽  
Qiu Cheng Wang

As there is no sufficient support between the single moving tool and fixture, the formed metal sheet is easy to bend in single point incremental forming (SPIF). Double sided incremental forming (DSIF) is proposed in which two tools are used on each side of the sheet to improve the components forming accuracy. Element finite method is introduced to simulate the forming process with both DSIF and SPIF toolpaths and the component geometric accuracies are compared. The simulation result shows the DSIF toolpaths can obtain better geometric accuracy than SPIF.


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