Single Point Incremental Forming of Metals

Publications

On the formability, geometrical accuracy, and surface quality of sheet metal parts produced by SPIF

Publication . Alves, Maria; Silva, M. B.; Alves, L. M.; Martins, P. A. F.; Xiaoyuan He; Huimin Xie; YiLan Kang

Conventional sheet metal forming processes are not suitable for flexible small-batch production and, therefore, are not appropriate for the growing agile manufacturing trends requiring very short life-cycles, development and production lead times. In fact, the present need for flexible sheet metal forming techniques requires the development of innovative technological solutions that are capable of reducing the fixed and capital costs of sheet metal forming to a level where small-batch production becomes economically feasible. Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is a new sheet metal forming process with a high potential economic payoff for rapid prototyping applications and for small quantity production. In general terms a typical SPIF set-up makes use of a small number of low cost active tools components; (i) a blankholder, (ii) a backing plate and (iii) a single point forming tool. The tool path is generated in a CNC machining center and during the process there is no backup die supporting the back surface of the sheet. Despite the contributions of many researchers on the development of industrial applications and better characterization of the forming limits of the process, several key topics related to the mechanics of deformation, likely mode of failure, geometric accuracy and surface quality of the formed parts remain little understood and scarcely systematized. This paper attempts to provide new contributions about the abovementioned issues by means of a comprehensive experimental investigation performed under laboratory controlled conditions.

2009-08Conference paper

Open access