Investigation into a new hybrid forming process: Incremental sheet forming combined with stretch forming

Asymmetric incremental sheet forming (AISF) is a process for the flexible production of sheet metal parts. In AISF, a part is obtained as the sum of localised plastic deformations induced by a simple forming tool that moves under CNC control. Three main problems exist in AISF: material thinning, geometric accuracy and the process duration. These limits restrict the range of applications of AISF. This paper focuses on a new hybrid process, the combination of AISF and stretch forming. First results are presented that show the positive impact of this hybrid process on the process limits.     

Review on the development of a hybrid incremental sheet forming system for small batch sizes and individualized production

Asymmetric Incremental Sheet Forming (AISF) has been developed as a flexible process for low-volume production of sheet metal parts. In AISF, a part is obtained as the sum of localized plastic deformations produced by a simple forming tool that moves under CNC control. In spite of about 20 years of research and development, AISF has not had much industrial take-up yet. The main reason for this is that attempts to improve, among other limitations, the accuracy, speed and range of feasible geometries of the process by adapted process strategies has not brought about general solutions. This paper presents an overview of the current state of development of hybrid asymmetric incremental sheet forming processes at RWTH Aachen University. The goal of the development of hybrid ISF processes is to allow for a quantum leap of the capabilities of AISF in order to enable a broader industrial use of AISF. Two hybrid process variations of AISF are presented: stretch forming combined with ISF and laser-assisted AISF. It is shown that the combination of stretch forming and AISF can improve the time per part, sheet thickness distribution and accuracy of the final part. Laser-assisted AISF is shown to enable the flexible forming of non cold-workable materials such as magnesium and titanium alloys when the forming conditions are adapted to the temperature and strain rate dependent formability of the sheet metal. In addition, first results of the forming of hybrid aluminum-steel sheet metal are shown.     

Tooling concepts to speed up incremental sheet forming

A major drawback of asymmetric incremental sheet forming (AISF) is the long cycle time. AISF is known in general as forming of a sheet metal by only one small forming zone. The developed concepts presented in this paper aim at decreasing the main process time by applying several forming zones on the part through multiple tools working in parallel. By the use of a systematic design process, four major structural tooling concepts were invented. Those variants were compared to each other by a cost-utility analysis. As a result, a prototype with two tools was produced to fasten the AISF process.     

Laser-assisted asymmetric incremental sheet forming of titanium sheet metal parts

Asymmetric Incremental Sheet Forming (AISF) is a relatively new manufacturing process. In AISF, a CNC driven forming tool imposes a localized plastic deformation as it moves along the contour of the desired part. Thus, the final shape is obtained by a sequence of localized plastic deformations. AISF is suitable for small series production of sheet metal parts as needed in aeronautical and medical applications. Two main process limits restrict the range of application of AISF in these fields. These are the low geometrical accuracy of parts made from titanium alloys or high strength steels and, for titanium alloys, the limited formability at room temperature. In this paper a new concept for laser-assisted AISF is introduced including the required components. Furthermore, the CAX tools used for programming the NC path for the forming tool and the laser spot are illustrated. First experimental results show that the formability of the alloy Ti Grade 5 (TiAl6V4), which is usually used in aeronautic applications, can be increased.     

金属板料渐进成形工艺过程有限元模拟

介绍了金属板料分层渐进成形过程有限元模拟。在金属板料渐进成形过程中,材料的弹塑性变形十分复杂,影响成形过程的因素很多,同时各个工艺参数对成形过程的影响又很难确定。为此,根据金属板料分层渐进成形为多工步成形的技术特点,建立一种有限元模拟方案,对板料渐进成形过程进行了模拟分析。     

Three-dimensional sheet metal continuous forming process based on flexible roll bending: Principle and experiments

To effectively manufacture three-dimensional sheet metal parts with various curvatures produced in small batch quantities, continuous sheet metal forming, a new flexible forming technology is being developed. This process employs an upper flexible roll and two lower flexible rolls as a forming tool, and the shape of a flexible roll can be changed in vertical direction. With the rotation of flexible rolls, the sheet metal is bent in longitudinal and transverse directions simultaneously and is formed continuously. In the present study, the three-dimensional surface of formed part is described by sweep surface based on the characteristic of the forming process and the arc-length parametric equation for describing continuous forming part is developed. The three-roll bending deformation of sheet metal in longitudinal direction is analyzed and the longitudinal curvature equation of the formed part is derived. The shape of flexible roll axis controlled at a number of points is represented by the cubic spline curve and the transverse curvature of the formed part after springback is then calculated piecewise. Typically experiments for forming concave shape surface and saddle-type surface have been performed, the experiment results are measured and analyzed by a binocular stereo vision measurement system, it is demonstrated that the formed surfaces are in good agreement with the desired shapes and the presented equations are useful for the continuous forming process design.     

Numerical simulation of aluminum alloy ladder parts with viscous pressure forming

1　INTRODUCTIONTheeffectofstressstatesonaxisymmetricsheetformabilityhasbeenstudiedundertheconditionofsolidmetalpunchforming [14 ] ,andtheeffectofblankholderpressure (BHP) ,frictioncoefficientandpunchconfigurationonthestressstateshasbeenob tained .Becauseofthedisadvantagesofsolid punchforming ,newformingtechnologyisneededtoim provethestressstatesofthesheetinformingprocessandtomeettherequirementofforminglow plastici ty ,complexshapeparts .Viscouspressureforming(VPF)isarecentlydevelopedfle…     

板料增量成形的研究进展

板料增量成形是采用简单模具对板料进行逐次塑性加工的一种工艺,不需要专用的模具就可以成形较为复杂的零件,同时还具有成形力小、柔性高的特点,特别适合多品种小批量零件的生产方式,因此得到国内外学者的重视。本文重点从板料的增量压弯成形、增量拉深胀形、增量微成形3个方面对板料增量成形的发展进行综述,还对板料增量成形工艺的发展前景进行了展望,指出进行理论创新、开发新的模拟软件、探索新的成形方案、开发增量成形新设备是发展趋势。     

Technology of sheet hydroforming with a movable female die

An improved sheet hydroforming process is proposed and investigated experimentally and numerically. A movable female die keeps in contact with the deformed area of the sheet blank so that further deformation of the deformed area is restricted. Under the sealing, the sheet blank under the flange can be drawn in. So the hydroformed part has less thinning than the hydrobulge formed part only, and the limit drawing ratio of the sheet can be remarkably improved. This process is especially suitable for forming of small batch production of sheet metal parts with complicated shapes. The female die can be replaced with other female die of various shapes, and can also be made of very cheap materials such as plaster and hard wood instead of metal when the part number is very small. Thus complex-shaped sheet parts can be formed with less expensive tool systems.In this paper, the hydroforming processes of part A (without a movable die) and part B (with a movable die) were investigated by experiment and by elastoplastic FEM. The effects of various process parameters on the deformation of the sheet blanks were investigated. The forming conditions affecting wrinkling and rupture have been analyzed. The effects of friction and contacting force acting on the experimental results are also discussed.     

Two-step method of forming complex shapes from sheet metal

A two-step method of forming a part and a method of designing a preform shape are being discussed. The part may be formed from lightweight material to an extent that would normally exceed the forming limits of the material if the part were attempted to be formed in one-step conventional stamping die. Critical areas including deep pockets and sharp radius areas of the final part are formed from a preform or intermediate shape part. The first forming step can be conducted by variety of sheet metal forming methods; the preformed blank is further formed in a fluid pressure forming process to a final part shape wherein broad radius areas and pockets of accumulated metal of the preform are formed into deep pockets and sharp corners of the final shape. Electrohydraulic forming technology is employed for the second forming step.     

新淬火铝合金板材成形回弹试验与数值模拟

研究了铝合金2024-T3板料在新淬火状态下的成形过程.首先测量了2024-T3板材在新淬火状态下的力学性能,与原始状态性能比较发现,屈服强度和抗拉强度降低,延伸率增大,韧性增加.基于数值模拟方法模拟了橡皮成形过程的回弹规律,对翼肋零件的翻边回弹进行了数值模拟,并通过试验进行了比较.结果表明,数值模拟与试验结果吻合较好,模拟与试验间的偏差足板料发生加工硬化所导致的.因而,通过模拟可以得到考虑了回弹的模具形状,从而修正模具,使回弹后形状达到没计的精度.数值模拟与试验比较表明该方法是可行性的.     

基于厚板的三辊滚弯成形数值模拟及优化

滚弯成形由于结构简单、加工效率高而被广泛用于工业制造领域.首先,介绍了三辊滚弯技术的成形原理,借助几何模型对成形半径和上辊压下量之间的关系进行推导;然后,使用有限元分析软件ABAQUS对三辊滚弯成形的圆形截面工件进行数值模拟,从模拟结果分析了成形过程中的板材应力分布以及成形半径大小.鉴于板材加工过程中无法避免的回弹现象...     

封头的多点成形工艺分析和数值模拟研究

结合多道次成形和分段成形工艺方式,文章对封头的多点成形过程进行了工艺分析。通过对其成形过程的有限元数值模拟,研究了封头多道次成形和分段成形的成形规律,制定了封头的多点成形工艺,并进行了实验验证。结果表明,通过合理的成形工艺,可以用多点成形设备成形封头,并能得到良好的成形效果。     

铝合金圆锥形零件粘性介质温成形研究

采用热力耦合有限元数值模拟方法对铝合金圆锥形零件粘性介质温成形过程进行了模拟分析,研究了成形过程粘性介质和板材的温度分布、不同温度条件下成形零件壁厚分布、成形载荷等.结果表明,圆锥形零件的底部圆角区域为成形危险区域.非等温粘性介质温成形过程中,在粘性介质内部形成的非均匀温度场影响了板材的温度分布.当粘性介质温度略低于板材温度时,坯料中心区域温度较低,有利于延迟底部圆角成形时的破裂,提高了零件壁厚的均匀性.分别进行了室温和加热时铝合金圆锥形零件粘性介质压力成形试验,试验结果与数值模拟具有相同的规律.     

Prevention of shock lines in multi-stage sheet metal forming

The occurrence of the shock lines in multi-stage sheet metal forming was investigated to obtain basic knowledge for the prevention of the shock lines. The deformation behaviour for the occurrence of the shock line was observed in detail in both experiment and numerical simulation. For the occurrence of the shock lines, multi-stage forming processes were simplified as a model forming test consisting of deep drawing and unbending. The effects of forming conditions on the occurrence of the shock lines were examined and the prevention of the occurrence was discussed. It was found that the decrease of thickness in the corner formed in previous stages appears as the shock line in the unbending. As an application to actual forming processes, the shock line in a multi-stage forming process of an automobile wheel disk was successfully prevented by increasing the radius of the punch corner in the first stage.     

金属板材分层渐进成形技术及其有限元模拟

本文介绍了金属板材分层渐进成形技术。由于金属板材分层渐进成形的工艺较复杂 ,各种参数及加工轨迹很难用实验方法确定 ,如何选择合理的工艺参数来得到理想的加工工件成为问题的关键。根据金属板材分层渐进成形为多工步成形的技术特点 ,提出了金属板材分层渐进成形的有限元模拟方案     

直壁矩形盒渐进成形技术

介绍了金属板料数控渐进成形的原理、板料变形过程及直壁矩形盒成形的工艺规划。根据正弦定律,直壁矩形盒采用数控渐进成形工艺不能一次成形。经设计平行线形工具路径方法,并进行试验和分析,得出影响直壁矩形盒成形的主要参数是成形半锥角。     

一步成形法在毛坯尺寸及零件成形性快速预测中的应用

介绍了一步成形法模拟软件的应用领域、基本原理和方法以及同增量法模拟比较的优点。用一步成形法模拟软件FASTFORM对零件毛坯和成形性进行预测并同增量法模拟结果比较，表明这种方法能够获得正确结果，适用于零件早期设计和工艺参数设计阶段。最后，指出随着一步成形技术的发展以及自身优势，对于中小企业将具有更为广泛的应用前景。     

模型姿态按给定成形方向定向定位方法

在金属板材数控渐进成形中模型姿态决定着成形半锥角,因而对成形件的厚度减薄率和分布具有较大的影响。为了按照能使板材件厚度均匀化的最佳方向或防止某一局部区域板材减薄量过大的方向成形,需要将待成形件CAD模型通过模型变换的方法,按照所希望的成形方向重新定向和定位。提出待成形件CAD模型的三维变换算法和定位算法,使用户能够根据自己所希望的方向进行成形加工。     

金属薄板成形的有限元仿真技术

金属薄板成形是一个包括材料非线性、接触非线性和几何非线性等的复杂问题。针对金属薄板的成形特点,探讨金属薄板成形有限元仿真关键技术,即建模、网格划分、算法选择及成形缺陷预测准则的特点及应用中应注意的问题。应用薄板成形专用有限元分析软件Dynaform,对薄板两次拉深成形进行了有限元仿真,仿真结果与实验结果吻合,验证了所论述理论的可行性及有效性。