In general, a large part of the time is devoted to the design and production of reliable parts where extensive knowledge is required for the design engineers to come up with an optimal solution for the tooling and sheet metal forming processes. Most of the time, the principle of trial and error is used to get the desired shapes for the products. This is because the prediction of deformations occurring in sheet metal elements is not available and is highly dependent on the geometry of the part, the tools and the deformation process. Prediction is limited by the proper location of necking, shear breakage, and puckering of the material. Searching for a robust deformation process by trial and error is expensive and inefficient. The use of numerical simulations provides engineers with an alternative efficiency for developing a tool and process to produce quality parts in a more efficient and lower cost. Computer simulation is an extension of theoretical science that is based on mathematical models. Such models attempt to characterize the physical prediction or consequences of scientific theories. The purpose of this work is to present the way of determining the forming limit diagram by various experimental methods.

Nowadays, there is a high demand for rapid prototyping parts and for products manufactured through plastic cold deformation. Incremental forming process is one of many which presents numerous advantages for fast production of complex shape parts. The purpose of this study is to develop a numerical model through finite element analysis to simulate the incremental forming process. For this analysis a variable wall angle part (VWA) which ranges from a 45° wall angle at the higher base of frustrum cone to a 70° wall angle at the base of the shape was proposed. The numerical model showed where the maximum strains are localized, how big the forces are during the process and how much the material thinned. Although the model does not indicate a possible failure of the material, the integrity of the structural stiffness was altered due to a minimum thickness reached of just 0.26mm.