Comparative Study of Incremental Forming and Elevated Temperature Incremental Forming Through Experimental Investigations on AA 1050 Sheet

Abstract

Unlike conventional forming processes, incremental forming (IF) does not require any part-specific tooling. It is a flexible forming process that is suitable to form user-specific shapes and for low volume production. The IF process has been recognized as a promising manufacturing process over conventional forming for the materials having decent formability. However, it does not give reliable results while forming hard to form materials. A few investigations revealed that heat plays a vital role in enhancing the formability. On heating, the yield stress of the materials gets reduced, the ductility increases, and hence the formability improves. Thus, for the materials having poor formability, an advance IF technique, elevated temperature incremental forming (ET-IF), has been developed. ET-IF involves incremental forming of the sheets while being heated by an external heat supply. This research study focuses on the execution of the ET-IF process and its comparison with the conventional IF process. A radiation type heating device to perform the ET-IF process is designed and fabricated. The experimental investigations were carried out on 1 mm thick AA 1050 sheets by carrying out the IF process at room temperature and enhanced temperatures. Experimentation was initiated with performing straight grove tests, which were later extended to form a few more shapes. Experimental results confirm the delay in fracture and intensification of formability with the ET-IF process in comparison to that of the IF process at room temperature. The work overcomes the limitation and enlarges the scope of application of the IF process.