Improvement of incremental sheet metal forming with the help of a pressurised fluid system

Abstract

Abstract The single point incremental sheet forming process is a flexible manufacturing process to produce complex three-dimensional products. Unlike traditional forming processes, the single point incremental sheet forming process does not require unique tools or die. This method is constantly being improved to increase the uniform formability of the material. The fluid assisted single point incremental sheet metal forming process with a newly developed system was experimentally investigated in this research. A controlled pressure fluid was applied to the forming surface in the opposite direction during shaping. Shaping processes were carried out using different fluid pressure values. The effect of this pressurised system on the forming quality was investigated by considering material wall thickness changes, heat generation and surface roughness. The results were compared with the results obtained with the traditional single point incremental sheet forming method. It has been determined that our method increases the formability of the finished product and shows a homogeneous thickness distribution.