Influence of laser assisted single point incremental forming on the accuracy of shallow sloped parts

Inwards bulging of the bottom is a typical geometric inaccuracy in shallow sloped Single Point Incrementally Formed (SPIF) parts. In this work, the effect of applying a localized heated spot moving synchronously with the forming tool on the geometrical accuracy of shallow sloped parts has been studied. To investigate the bulging of the bottom the results of an experimentally validated three-dimensional elasto-plastic finite element modelhave been utilized. These results have been used to identify the contact zone between the tool and the sheet, during Laser Assisted SinglePoint Incremental Forming (LASPIF) process. Moreover, a three-dimensional transient heat transfer model was formulated to identify optimum process parameters for the heating process. FE modeling results have been validated by temperature field measurements obtained from IR camera observations and a good agreement between the experimental data and the model has been observed. Based on the selected process parameters different relative positioning strategies between the tool position and the dynamically heated spot have been selected. Geometrical accuracies and the process forces have been measured and the best forming strategy has been identified accordingly.status: publishe