Investigation and optimization of deformation energy and geometric accuracy in the incremental sheet forming process using response surface methodology

Incremental sheet forming (ISF) is a promising manufacturing process that features benefits of reduced forming forces, enhanced formability and greater process flexibility. It also has a great potential to achieve economic payoff for rapid prototyping applications and for small quantity production in various applications. However, limited research has been conducted from the sustainability point of view, particularly for energy consumption. More consumed energy will generate more heat and affect tool and product wear. Also, geometric accuracy is still one of the dominant limits for the further development and commercialization of the ISF technology. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate how different process parameters affect the consumed energy during the forming process and also find the optimal working condition for lower deformation energy with higher geometric accuracy. A Box-Behnken design of 27 tests for pyramid-forming processes have been performed for a multi-objective optimisation that considers four factors: step down, sheet thickness, tool diameter and wall angle at three levels. The deformation energy during the forming process was calculated based on the measured forming forces. It was found that the deformation energy heavily depends on the sheet thickness because of higher plastic energy required to deform the material. Increasing step-down size within a limited range or decreasing the wall angle is also an effective approach to reduce the deformation energy. Moreover, the effects of various process parameters on the global geometric accuracy have also been investigated. The geometric error has been empirically predicted by quadratic equations giving the influence of the most influential forming parameters. It was concluded that the geometric quality is largely determined by the quadratic effect of wall angle, the linear effect of sheet thickness and the interaction effect of thickness and step down. Finally, the optimal working conditions for both independent and simultaneous minimisation of deformation energy and geometric error during the pyramid-forming process are provided.

[1]  N. Hayat,et al.  Guidelines for Tool-Size Selection for Single-Point Incremental Forming of an Aerospace Alloy , 2013 .

[2]  Joost R. Duflou,et al.  Force prediction for single point incremental forming deduced from experimental and FEM observations , 2010 .

[3]  M. Mourabet,et al.  Removal of fluoride from aqueous solution by adsorption on Apatitic tricalcium phosphate using Box–Behnken design and desirability function , 2012 .

[4]  Meftah Hrairi,et al.  Research and Progress in Incremental Sheet Forming Processes , 2011 .

[5]  Sami Kara,et al.  Towards Energy and Resource Efficient Manufacturing: A Processes and Systems Approach , 2012 .

[6]  Jian Cao,et al.  Exergy analysis of incremental sheet forming , 2012, Prod. Eng..

[7]  Jack Jeswiet,et al.  Initial analysis of cost, energy and carbon dioxide emissions in single point incremental forming – producing an aluminium hat , 2012 .

[8]  Peter Hartley,et al.  An assessment of various process strategies for improving precision in single point incremental forming , 2011 .

[9]  Paulo A.F. Martins,et al.  Revisiting the fundamentals of single point incremental forming by means of membrane analysis , 2008 .

[10]  Niels Bay,et al.  Failure mechanisms in single-point incremental forming of metals , 2011 .

[11]  Giuseppina Ambrogio,et al.  An analytical model for improving precision in single point incremental forming , 2007 .

[12]  Fabrizio Micari,et al.  Shape and dimensional accuracy in Single Point Incremental Forming: State of the art and future trends , 2007 .

[13]  Paul A. Meehan,et al.  Study on Step Depth for Part Accuracy Improvement in Incremental Sheet Forming Process , 2014 .

[14]  Joost Duflou,et al.  Study of the geometrical inaccuracy on a SPIF two-slope pyramid by finite element simulations , 2012 .

[15]  M. Mourabet,et al.  Use of response surface methodology for optimization of fluoride adsorption in an aqueous solution by Brushite , 2017 .

[16]  Joost Duflou,et al.  Asymmetric single point incremental forming of sheet metal , 2005 .

[17]  Giuseppe Ingarao,et al.  A sustainability point of view on sheet metal forming operations: material wasting and energy consumption in incremental forming and stamping processes , 2012 .

[18]  Julian M. Allwood,et al.  A structured search for applications of the incremental sheet-forming process by product segmentation , 2005 .

[19]  Joost Duflou,et al.  A Comprehensive Analysis of Electric Energy Consumption of Single Point Incremental Forming Processes , 2014 .

[20]  Anirban Bhattacharya,et al.  Formability and Surface Finish Studies in Single Point Incremental Forming , 2011 .

[21]  Paul A. Meehan,et al.  Modeling and Optimization of Surface Roughness in Incremental Sheet Forming using a Multi-objective Function , 2014 .

[22]  Seung-Han Yang,et al.  Multiple-response optimization for micro-endmilling process using response surface methodology , 2011 .

[23]  Giuseppina Ambrogio,et al.  Improving industrial suitability of incremental sheet forming process , 2012 .

[24]  Paul A. Meehan,et al.  Deformation mechanics and efficient force prediction in single point incremental forming , 2015 .

[25]  Giuseppe Ingarao,et al.  Analysis of Energy Efficiency of Different Setups Able to Perform Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) Processes , 2014 .

[26]  Julian M. Allwood,et al.  The effect of partially cut-out blanks on geometric accuracy in incremental sheet forming , 2010 .

[27]  I. Ferrer,et al.  The Effect of Process Parameters on the Energy Consumption in Single Point Incremental Forming , 2013 .

[28]  Paul A. Meehan,et al.  Efficient force prediction for incremental sheet forming and experimental validation , 2014 .