The Formability of Perforated TA1 Sheet in Single Point Incremental Forming

Abstract

In light of the analysis on the single point incremental forming (SPIF) principle of perforated titanium sheet and the corresponding peculiarities during the forming process, it is found that the wall angle constitutes the pivotal parameter influencing the SPIF quality of the perforated titanium sheet, and this is also the key evaluation index to test the application of SPIF technology on a complex surface. This method for integrating the experiment and the finite element modelling was utilized in this paper to study the wall angle range and fracture mechanism of Grade 1 commercially-pure α titanium (TA1) perforated plate, plus the effect of different wall angles on the quality of perforated titanium sheet components. The forming limiting angle, fracture, and deformation mechanism of the perforated TA1 sheet in the incremental forming were obtained. In accordance with the results, the forming limit is related to the forming wall angle. When the limiting angle of the perforated TA1 sheet in the incremental forming is around 60 degrees, the fracture mode is the ductile fracture. Parts with a changing wall angle have a larger wall angle than parts with a constant angle. The thickness of the perforated plate formed part does not fully satisfy the sine law, and the thickness of the thinnest point of the perforated titanium mesh with different wall angles is lower than that predicted by the sine law; therefore, the actual forming limit angle of the perforated titanium sheet should be less than that predicted by a theoretical calculation. With the increase in the forming wall angle, the effective strain, the thinning rate, and the forming force of the perforated TA1 titanium sheet all increase, while the geometric error decreases. When the wall angle of the perforated TA1 titanium sheet is 45 degrees, the parts with a uniform thickness distribution and good geometric accuracy can be obtained.