Effect of process parameters on formability in incremental forming of sheet metal

The formability of sheet metal appears better in incremental forming than in conventional forming. In this study, the effect of process parameters-tool type, tool size, feed rate, friction at the interface between tool and sheet, plane-anisotropy of sheet-on the formability was investigated by experiments and FEM analyses. It was found that the formability is improved when a ball tool of a particular size is used with a small feed rate and a little friction. Due to the plane-anisotropy, the formability differs according to the direction of the tool movement. (C) 2002 Published by Elsevier Science B.V.