Forming force in incremental sheet forming: a comparative analysis of the state of the art

Abstract

Incremental sheet forming (ISF) significantly exempts use of expensive dies and reduces tooling cost for manufacturing complex parts in the field of sheet metal forming which makes it suitable for manufacturing prototypes and low volume production as compared to other traditional sheet metal forming processes. ISF also finds suitability for producing components of old machinery, which are otherwise very difficult to form due to the unavailability of forming dies. Moreover, the incremental nature of the process and local deformation of the sheet ensures higher formability and lower required forming force. To take advantages of lower required forming force, it is important to minimize and estimate forming force through the manipulation of the parameters for the safe utilization of hardware. In this review article, a literature survey was carried out quantitatively to study different aspects of ISF, especially to show different process parameters and techniques that affect the forming forces significantly. The current state of the art of the ISF process has been discussed with detailed analysis of process capabilities and limitations in terms of forming forces. Influences of different process parameters and forming techniques have also been studied on forming forces. Some parameters have shown their significance to control the forming force in order to preserve forming machinery. A lack of focus was found on effects of some important forming process parameters and methods, which could have been crucial for safe utilization of forming hardware. A number of guidelines have been recommended for future research work. Appropriate guidelines have also been suggested regarding the relationship between process parameters and forming forces developed during the process in order to ensure the applicability of the ISF process on the industrial scale.

Study on Forming Forces of Parts Processed by Single Point Incremental Forming With Dummy Sheet

“…The process parameters are selected on the basis of available experimental setup, reviewed literature and their influence on forming force. As also reported by Kumar et al, [28] that most investigated process parameters influencing forming force are step size followed by tool diameter, wall angle, sheet thickness, spindle speed and feed rate. Spindle speed is not considered in the present study because it creates unnecessary vibrations during forming operation and deteriorate the surface characteristics of formed part.…”

Incremental forming using KUKA KR210-2 industrial robot - research regarding design rules and process modelling

“…If we relate to the technical equipment, the major research in this area has been done on 3-axis CNC milling machines, where the metal sheet in formed only on three directions, due to the less degree of freedom (DOF) compared with 5-axis CNC machines or industrial robots. Compared with other types of equipment, the 3-axis CNC milling machines are used in large number on SPIF [13][14][15][16]. The major drawback of this equipment is given by the limitation of the working area.…”

Toolpath Planning and Generation for Multi-Stage Incremental Forming Based on Stretching Angle

“…The forming tool gradually extrudes the sheet metal according to the preprogrammed toolpath to make it deformed so as to obtain a three-dimensional geometric model [3]. Because of the flexibility and dieless characteristics, this technology has attracted much attention and has been applied in various fields, such as medical treatment, aerospace, automobile manufacturing, etc., and also plays an extremely important role in more-variety-and-lessbatch production [4,5].…”