Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 62:981988

DOI 10.1007/s00170-011-3852-y

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Thickness distribution and design of a multi-stage process

for sheet metal incremental forming
Junchao Li & Jianbiao Hu & Junjie Pan & Pei Geng

Received: 24 August 2011 / Accepted: 9 December 2011 / Published online: 23 December 2011
# Springer-Verlag London Limited 2011

Abstract Sheet incremental forming (ISF) is a promising

technology. It is inexpensive and does not require particular
dies. Sheet thinning, however, has always been one of the
forming defects which impede the processs wide application. Although a multi-stage forming process is supposed to
be effective to deal with this problem, it is still uncertain
how the process can reduce thickness thinning and there is
no applicable rule to determine the favorable number of
forming stages. In this work, based on a truncated cone, a
finite element method (FEM) model for a double-pass forming was established first. Unlike simplifications in previous
studies, with the process of the three-dimensional coordinates in numerical controlled (NC) machining code, the tool
trajectory in this simulation model is the same as that in real
work. With this approach, it was expected to gain reliability
of the simulation result, and then this simulation result and a
single-pass forming result were analyzed. The results of the
analysis indicate that more uniform thickness distribution in
the double-forming process largely benefits from the increase of the total plastic deformation zone. Finally, under
the condition of constant volume in deformation, an equation was proposed to work out the right number of necessary
forming stages and the rule of this equation was verified
with a relatively complex product.
Keywords Incremental forming . Thickness distribution .
Double-pass forming . FEM

J. Li (*) : J. Hu : J. Pan : P. Geng

College of Material Science and Engineering,
ChongQing University,
ChongQing 400044, China
e-mail: craneycqu@hotmail.com

1 Introduction
Compared with the conventional stamping process for mass
production of various products which needs specially
designed dies, sheet metal incremental forming (ISF), a
flexible manufacturing process, takes shorter lead time,
costs less and requires no dedicated dies. It satisfies the
increasing demands for the production of small batch products or customized parts [1, 2]. This technology originated
in rapid prototyping and it can be easily implemented by
using a three-axis numerical controlled (NC) milling machine [3, 4]. In this process, a forming tool, which moves
along a series of contour lines at a constant depth increment
in vertical direction generally, deforms a flat or circular
metal sheet into a designed product gradually. These contour
lines constitute the machining path of the forming tool. The
machining path is often programmed and edited by computer aided manufacturing (CAM) software, and then submitted
to an NC milling machine for execution.
As the tool path can be conveniently modified by computer, sheet incremental forming is more flexible than other metal
forming processes. Because of this, growing academic interests have been focused on incremental forming. Significant
achievements have also been achieved over the past years,
especially after finite element method (FEM) simulations
were used to analyze process mechanism. Iseki [5] applied
an FEM model to calculate the bulging height, the strain and
stress distributions based on the shell theory, and it indicates a
plane-strain deformation. Kim and Park [6] utilized PAMSTAMP for the FEM analyses to investigate the effect of
process parameters on the formability. Costantino et al. [7]
carried out an explicit numerical analysis to verify the effectiveness of incremental forming. Ma and Mo [8] employed
brick element to establish a simplified FEM model of a
truncated pyramid in DEFORM to analyze the deformation

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pattern, but the model needs more simulation time than the
one based on shell element. In spite of these accomplishments,
the application of incremental forming has not been popularized mainly for two puzzles, the severe thickness thinning for
products with steep slopes and limited geometric accuracy
because of spring back phenomenon [9]. Multi-stage forming
is generally considered an effective way to deal with the two
puzzles. Bambach et al. [9] improved a pyramids geometric
accuracy by changing the size of round corners gradually. Hirt
et al. [10] made a pyramid with a wall angle () of 81 based
on a preformed shape (045) with an increase in angle of 3
or 5 at each stage, which achieved a more homogeneous
thickness distribution. And similar results were obtained by
double-pass forming [11, 12]. However, there is still no definite rule for multi-stage forming design, for the previous
investigations depended on experiences or trial and error
methods more or less. As a result, a further research on
multi-stage forming is extraordinarily necessary.
In this paper, based on FEM model and experimental
verification, we made efforts to investigate on deformation
characteristics of multi-stage forming of incremental forming. In the mentioned FEM researches, most of the studies
were based upon simplified FEM models to simulate ISF
process, for the complicated three-dimensional (3-D) movements of the forming tool are quite difficult to be implemented in FEM analysis. In addition, the previous
simulation models were mostly aimed at single-pass forming. For this reason, in our study, an FEM model of doublepass incremental forming was proposed first, in which the
tools motion trajectory was the same as in actual working
condition. After that, the simulation results were analyzed
and experimentally verified. Then, a method to determine
the suitable number of forming stages was put forward and
proved applicable with a relatively complex model as an
example.

In view of the sine law, it is impossible for a straight wall

part (00) to be formed through a conventional single-pass
forming. Previous studies have shown that for a given
material with a certain sheet thickness, the minimum wall
angle of a successfully formed part is far more than 0 [14,
15]. On the other hand, even though a product with steep
slope was successfully formed, the sheet often suffers severe
thickness reduction. Faced with these problems, multi-stage
forming has been proposed to form parts with steep slope
and to reduce sheet thinning [10].
A kind of multi-stage forming processes is sketched in
Fig. 1. For a model with a wall angle of , if the tool path is
directly generated from , the process is a single-pass forming. On the contrary, if the tool deforms the sheet from some
intermediate shapes to the final part, multi-stage forming
strategy is used. Each intermediate shape represents a forming stage and in each process, the deformation procedure
equals a single-pass incremental forming.
In order to make it easy to understand multi-stage forming, take double-pass forming (n02) as an example. Approximately, the size of the deformation area will change
from L2 + L4 to L1 + L4 during the process. Therefore,
according to shear deformation mechanism, the principal
strain can be expressed by the following equation.
"m ln

L1 L4
L2 L4

Similarly, as for a single-pass process, the principal strain

is:
"s ln

L1
L2

Thus,
"m  "s ln

L1 L4
L1
L1 L2 L2 L4
 ln
ln
L2 L4
L2
L1 L2 L1 L4

2 Methods
2.1 Multi-stage forming
The ISF process is fully characterized by a localized deformation which is restricted to a small area between the
moving tool and the workpiece. And the forming zone is
mainly subjected to shear deformation confirmed by other
studies [11, 13]. As a result, the sine law originated from
shear forming has been adopted to predict the ultimate sheet
thickness:
t t0 sin a

where t0 is the initial sheet thickness, t is the ultimate sheet

thickness, and is the wall angle.

Fig. 1 Sketch of multi-stage forming

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Table 1 Properties of DC56

Item

Value

Yield strength (MPa)

Elastic modulus
(MPa)
Density (kg m3)
Poisson ratio
Strain-hardening
exponent

135.27
207
7,850
0.28
0.23

It is obvious that L1 > L2, so m < s. That is, the

thickness reduction using a multi-stage forming is smaller
than that which uses a single-pass process. It might result
from the increase of the forming zone from L2 to L2 + L4
shown in Fig. 1. Therefore, when it is difficult to meet the
requirements of wall thickness or strength with traditional
process, multi-pass forming is likely a good choice.
2.2 Designed part and process parameters
In this paper, a frustum of cone, with a height of 50 mm and
a major diameter of 160 mm, was taken into account.
Meanwhile, the wall angle is 30.The blank used in the
experiment was a DC56 sheet and was 1 mm thick by
400400 mm, and the main material parameters of DC56
are listed in Table 1.
In order to analyze the influence of forming stages on
blank formability, a preformed shape with wall angle of 45
was designed. According to previous studies, process
parameters play an important part in blank formability [16,
17]. In this paper, the utilized process parameters of the
preformed shape and the final part are shown in Table 2.
2.3 FEM model
2.3.1 A FEM model of double-pass forming
A 3-D elasticplastic finite element model for incremental
forming in this experiment was established based on Abaqus/Explicit. The flow chart of setting up a double-pass

Fig. 2 Establishment of a double-pass forming FEM model

forming model is depicted in Fig. 2. First, an FEM model

of the preformed shape (045) was established and then
submitted for analysis. Next, the deformed mesh and material state of blank could be successfully transferred to the
FEM model of the final part by defining a preliminary state
field in Abaqus. Meanwhile, the new tool with other components including support and binder could also be
imported and relocated. In this way, when the FEM model
of the final shape runs, the model can inherit the previous
analysis results at the beginning and an FEM model to
realize a more-than-two pass forming process could be
implemented. In addition, the material was assumed to be
of isotropic property and was meshed with four-node shell
elements (Abaqus type S4R) with five integration points
through the thickness. Coulombs friction law was applied
with a friction coefficient of 0.1 between the blank and the
tool, and a friction coefficient of 0.25 between the blank and
other parts including the partial die and the binder. At the
same time, a masterslave contact algorithm was employed.
Moreover, the process parameters in the two models were

tool
upper binder
Table 2 Process parameters for double pass ISF
Process parameter

Wall angle, ()
Tool diameter, D (mm)
Depth increment, z (mm)

Value
Preformed
shape

Final part

45
16
1

30
10
0.5

blank
low binder

support

Fig. 3 The FEM model of the preformed shape

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used to create displacement constraints of the forming tool

in FEM model. As a result, the tool path in the simulation
model is the same as that in real work. However, as mentioned in previous researches, long calculation time has
always been a crucial problem for ISF simulation because
of the complicated tool path [20]. To tackle this problem, the
tool speed was artificially increased below a critical value in
this study and the total calculation time was sharply
reduced.

3 Results
3.1 Simulation results

Fig. 4 Tool path definition in FEM model

set according to Table 2. Figure 3 shows the FEM model of

the preformed shape.
2.3.2 Boundary condition of tool path
Boundary conditions should be defined in the FEM model,
for an intermediate shape or a final part. In spite of the
definition of blank holder force between the binders, tool
path definition has always been a puzzle in FEM analysis as
it often consists of a series of spatial curves [18, 19].
Because of this, most studies were just concerned with
simplified tool trajectory to analyze the process of incremental forming and to investigate certain problems [7, 8].
This can give rise to a deviation between an FEM model and
an actual process. To deal with it, in this paper, the tool
trajectory in FEM model was defined by adding the 3-D
displacement coordinates of the moving tool in real working
condition. And the procedure of tool path definition is
described in Fig. 4. At first, the 3-D coordinates (x,y,z) in
APT (automatically programmed tools) file which was generated by CAM program were obtained. Assuming that the
tool moved at a constant speed, a time series could be
generated by Matlab programming because the distance
between two adjacent points along the tool path was known.
Thus, three time-coordinate arrays were obtained and were

Fig. 5 Thickness distributions

after a double-pass forming
simulation

The thickness cloud image of the preformed shape and the

final part are illustrated in Fig. 5. Obviously, there are several
consequent strain rings around the circumference of the ultimate truncated cone. To examine sheet thickness variations at
different areas of the final part further, the thickness distribution along with the sectional outline in the radial direction was
obtained, as shown in Fig. 6. Meanwhile, the simulation result
of the same part using a single-pass process was also compared, and process parameters in the single-pass process were
identical with those of the latter stage of the double-pass
forming. It was noted that the minimum thicknesses of the
double-pass and single-pass formed part were 0.58 and
0.5 mm, respectively. The maximum thinning rate of the
double-pass process was largely reduced compared with the
single-pass method. In terms of the thickness variations in the
radial direction, the whole deformation area could be divided
into three distinct parts: OA, AB and BC regions. The sheet
thickness continuously reduces from point O to point A. Then,
the thickness increases gradually to 1 mm at point C with an
inflexion point of B.
3.2 Experimental verification
A verification test for the double-pass forming process was
carried out on a three-axis milling machine along with a
self-made set-up for incremental forming. During the

thickness

thickness

=45(preformed part)

=30(final part)

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 62:981988

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Thickness t/mm

4 Discussion
Single-pass
=30
Preformed stage
=45
Final stage

Height H/mm

=30

Preformed
stage

Final stage

Distance from the center R/mm

Fig. 6 Thickness distribution and outline in the radial direction

experiment, hemispherical end tools were applied. The trajectories of the tools were the same with those in FEM
model, which were achieved by CAM module of Unigraphics NX. The tool speeds for the preformed stage, and the
final stage were set to 1,000 and 1,500 mm/min, respectively. In addition, other process parameters, such as tool diameter and depth increment, strictly equaled those in
simulation model. Meanwhile, oil was applied to minimize
the friction. Figure 7a shows the forming set-up. The experimental thickness result as well as the numerical result of the
final stage is depicted in Fig.7b. It was found that both of the
thickness distributions in the radial direction were generally
in accordance with each other despite a little acceptable
discrepancy. Accordingly, the FEM model in this paper
and its corresponding results proved effective.
Fig. 7 Experimental
verification for the double-pass
forming

(a) Forming set-up

4.1 Influence on thickness distribution

As illustrated in Fig. 6, the deformation area from point O to
point C has been divided into three regions. In the OA region,
the average thickness of the double-pass formed part is significantly larger than that of the single-pass formed part.
However, the case is just the reverse in AB and BC regions.
Specifically, as for the single-pass process, the thickness
increases sharply to its initial value from point A to point B
and remains invariable in BC region, where there is no plastic
deformation occurring. With regard to the double-pass process, however, the deformation occurs over the whole AC
area. In addition, it should be observed further that there is
no difference between the preformed process and the final
process in thickness distribution in BC region. It indicates that
the material in BC region would never experience further
deformation during the second forming stage. At the same
time, considering that BC region does not deform at all in the
single-pass forming process, this region during a double-pass
process is expected to be served as an auxiliary deformation
area to reduce the thickness thinning of the sloping surface
OA and to avoid or to delay the crack occurrence there. It
seems that if a multi-pass process beyond twice is adopted, the
size of the auxiliary region would vary slightly, but a more
uniform thickness distribution would be accomplished. As a
consequence, for decisive areas where the minimum thickness
is required, the auxiliary deformation regions should be well
designed at places without critical thickness expectations.
4.2 Strain history
Figure 8 shows strain histories for nodes A, B, C and D. As
shown, whether in the single-pass process or in the doublepass process, the strain paths are characterized by a series of
cascades. This is fully in accord with the previous result
[21]. The difference is that each strain path goes through
two segments of cascading increase in the double-pass
process.

(b) Thickness distribution comparisons

Simulation
result

Experimental
result

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Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 62:981988

B and C reduces by 66.2%, 81.9% and 36.0%, respectively,

while the maximum strain for node D increases a little. The
only exception for node D is mainly because it has experienced a double deformation process. As a whole, in a
double-pass process, the sheet strain is reduced largely and
less thickness fluctuation is achieved.
4.3 Forming stages needed
1-single-pass

Equivalent plastic strain

1-D

2-D

2-double-pass
2-C

1-C
1-B

2-B

1-A

2-A

T/s

Multi-stage forming has been verified to avoid severe sheet

thinning in an incremental forming process in this work and
other researches. However, for any product, how many
necessary forming stages are needed? Too many stages
mean an unacceptable work cycle and too little stages indicate inability to meet thickness requirements. An effective
method to define the appropriate number of forming stages
is quite necessary. As thinning rate R is always one of the
striking demands for a product, it was applied in this paper
to find out the right number of stages.
In terms of the rule that volume remains constant during
ISF process, there is a relationship between the thickness
thinning Ri (i01, 2, , n) of each forming stage and the
total thickness thinning R0 as follows:
ln1  R1 ln1  R2 . . . ln1  Rn ln1  R0

Fig. 8 Strain histories for selected nodes

Moreover, node A is the first to undergo deformation

because of its location at the top, but it reaches a minor
strain for the reason that it only deforms when the tool
moves along the original several contours. Other nodes are
subjected to more tool actions and consequently have larger
strain values. In addition, the maximum stains for nodes A,

Assuming that R1 0 R2 0 0 Rn 0 R, then the total

number of forming stages
n

ln1  R0
ln1  R0

The result of n can be regarded as an estimate of the

number of stages in real work. For instance, for a model

Fig. 9 Verification of the

algorithm of necessary forming
stages

thickness

(a) A designed part

(b) Result of the first stage

thickness

thickness

(c) Result of the second stage

(d) Result of the third stage

Int J Adv Manuf Technol (2012) 62:981988

shown in Fig. 9a, of which the thinning rate was requested

to be less than 0.7, R00.33 was made and n was calculated
to be 3, in reference to Eq. 6. Then, the real thickness
reduction ratios of the three forming stages should be adjusted from small to large. Thus, R1, R2 and R3 were set to
0.23, 0.3 and 0.46, respectively. In this case, for a DC56
sheet with a thickness of 2.4 mm, the thickness of each
forming stage is expected to be more than 1.85, 1.3 and
0.7 mm in turn. Thus, the minimum walls at the first two
intermediate stages, 50.4 and 44.4, were determined based
on the arrangement of Ri (i01, 2, 3) and the sine law. With
this, addendum surfaces taken as auxiliary deformation
areas were also designed. The FEM model of this threepass process was set up in the same way as shown in Fig. 2.
The tool diameters in three models were 20, 16 and 10 mm.
Figure 9 presents the simulation results. The minimum
thicknesses of three stages are 1.85, 1.29 and 0.66 mm,
which are nearly consistent with the expected values. But
at the final stage, the sheet thickness reaches its maximum
value of 3.08 mm, having a tendency of wrinkling. This can
be solved by partly modifying addendum surfaces. Considering the agreeable numerical results, expression 6 was
applicable to work out the necessary forming stages.

5 Conclusions
FEM has been widely used to investigate the incremental
forming process so far. However, FEM models were
often simplified because it was hard to define complex
tool trajectories. In this work, the tool path was loaded
by building up the displacement boundary condition of
the moving tool on the basis of the tools three dimensional coordinates which come from APT file. Therefore,
there were no differences between the simulation model
and the real work in tool path, which will lead to more
accurate results.
In addition, a double-pass forming process along with a
single-pass technology for a truncated cone was analyzed
based on an FEM model which was verified effective by a
trail on a three-axis milling machine. The result indicates
that the thickness thinning reduction in a double-pass process is due to an existing auxiliary deformation area. That is,
more uniform thickness distribution in critical parts of a
product largely results from the enlargement of the whole
plastically deforming zone.
Finally, for any product of which thickness requirements
were difficult to satisfy in a single-pass process, an expression to estimate the necessary number of forming stages was
proposed, and the expression was verified by simulation of a
relatively complex product. Future work will be focused on
testing the achievable accuracy of this prediction rule for

987

more kinds of products. Furthermore, reasonable designs of

addendum surfaces should also be emphasized.
Acknowledgements The authors would like to acknowledge financial support by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central
Universities, under grant No.CDJZR10130006.

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