Toward understanding the process limits of incremental sheet forming of titanium alloys

CITATION: Uheida, E. H., Oosthuizen, G. A. & Dimitrov, D. 2016. Toward understanding the process limits of incremental sheet forming of titanium alloys. In Competitive Manufacturing, International Conference on Competitive Manufacturing (COMA '16), 27-29 January 2016, Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch University, South Africa.The original publication is available at http://conferences.sun.ac.za/index.php/doie/coma16Incremental sheet forming (ISF) process is characterised by high flexibility at low cost, and short replacement time. ISF as a process has received global attention. Particular areas include the aerospace industries, customized products for biomedical applications and prototyping in the automotive industry. Most applications can become competitive due to the flexibility offered by this manufacturing process. In this work, a background study and review of state-of-the-art ISF have been undertaken with the aim of providing a better understanding of the process limitations. The critical factors of incremental sheet forming were discussed and the mechanical and thermal process demands were identified. This information provides the foundation for developing a forming optimisation map.Publisher's versio