FEM Analysis of Sheet Incremental Forming Process

Sheet incremental forming is a new sheet metal dieless forming technology. This paper introduced the fundamentals of the sheet incremental forming process. Based on the principle of “layered manufacture” in rapid prototype technology, this process resolves the intricate three-dimensional geometry information of the workpiece into a series of two-dimensional data, which can be used by an NC system to control a forming tool to make a curvilinear movement over the raw sheet metal layer by layer until the component wanted is formed. This paper introduced the sheet incremental forming system and metal digital forming technology. An FEM model of the incremental forming process is established, and a typical process is analyzed to instruct the parameters selection and the optimization of the forming tracks.