Sheet metal forming processes with incremental approach

State of the Art

This chapter overview the incremental forming processes that have been developed recently,
mainly in Japan and discusses their principles and features. In recent years, a metal forming system
with a large flexibility that is able to deal with small batch productions with large product variety
has been demanded. Incremental forming processes have the potentials to cope with such demand,
and there have been a variety of processes developed and investigated. In incremental forming
process, the movement of the tools plays a substantial role in dimensional or shape accuracy, unlike
the ordinary metal forming processes.

2.1. Sheet metal forming processes with incremental approach

Sheet metal forming is a grouping of many complementary processes that are used to form
sheet metal parts. One or more of these processes is used to take a flat sheet of ductile metal, and
mechanically apply deformation forces that alter the shape of the material. Before deciding on the
processes, one should determine whether a particular sheet metal can be formed into the desired
shape without failure. The sheet metal operations done on a press may be grouped into two
categories, cutting (shearing) operations and forming operations.

Figure 2.1. The sheet metal operation

There are many different processes in metal forming that use an incremental approach. With
this approach, the deformation of the material is carried out incrementally and as a consequence, less
forming loads are required comparing with the conventional processes. Some of these processes
worked as the basic of SPIF. With this in mind, it follows a short overview of sheet incremental
forming technologies.

8
2.1.1 Hammering

The hammering is one of the oldest processes in sheet incremental forming. This process was
initially done manually but with the technological developments it can be done in a modern CNC.
Nowadays, hammering takes advantage of the robotic technology and it uses a robotic arm that
controls the movement of the tool and punches the sheet, which is clamped in a support frame, in
circular trajectories descending step by step in each round.

Figure 2.2. Principle of the incremental hammering by a industrial robot [10].

2.1.2. Multi-Point forming

The fundamental idea of multi-point forming for sheep metal is to replace the conventional
solid dies in stamping by a pair of opposed matrices of punches as shown down.

Figure 2.3. a – Conventional stamping, b – Multi-point forming [3]

The movement of each punch is controlled independently by MPF press, and MPF is a
flexible processing technique. One of the important advantages of MPF is that the forming path of
metal sheet can be adjusted freely, and a sheet product can be manufactured along an optimum
forming path with least risk of forming failure.
Multi-point forming of sheet metal has the following characteristics:
- deformation of materials in MPF is not so large as that in stamping;
- in-plane forces are smaller than those in stamping and bending deformation is the
predominant deformation;
- contact boundary is a multi-point, discontinuous one between sheet and punch matrices, and
is much more complicated than that of stamping.
9
2.1.3. Shot Peen Forming

Shot Penn Forming is a die-less process performed at room temperature, whereby small
round steel shot impact the surface of the work piece. Every piece of shot acts as a tiny penning
hammer, producing elastic stretching of the upper surface and local plastic deformation that
manifests itself as a residual compressive stress. The combination of elastic stretching and
compressive stress generation causes the material to develop a compound, convex curvature on the
penned side.
The shot impacts are statically distributed and they are usually made of steel balls which are
accelerated using compressed air though a nozzle. The shot peen forming process is ideal for
forming large panel shapes where the bend radii are reasonably large and without abrupt changes in
contour so it is widely used in aircraft industry. In order to improve productivity, formability and
applicability, Kopp and Schulz have been doing research in Double-Sided Simultaneous shot peen
forming.
All the Sheet Metal Forming processes even better in what concerns to flexibility and
consequently cut development costs and lead time some processes without tool were developed. It
will be presented next a brief description of three Sheet Metal Forming Processes with this last
characteristic.

2.1.4. Laser Forming Process

Laser Forming Process is based in thermal stresses that are induced on the blank by laser
irradiation on the sheet metal (Fig. 2.4)..
The thermal stresses induce plastic strains resulting in bending or buckling of the material.
This process can also be used to make repairs or modifications in sheet metal components. The costs
of the forming stand, the need of qualified personnel, the high energy consuming, the need of
personal safety protection equipments and the need (sometimes) of pre-coating of the metal sheet in
order to enhance the absorptive coupling are the main disadvantages of this process. Some of these
problems were successfully solved by replacing the laser by plasma arc.

Figure 2.4. Laser forming

2.1.5. Water Jet Forming

The Water Jet Forming is similar to the laser forming, replacing the laser by a water jet. As
advantages we have: more flexibility, better surface integrity, less tooling requirements, lower

10
equipment costs and less environmental impact. In the other hand, Water Jet Forming is less
accurate, consumes more energy and takes more time than other incremental metal forming
processes.

Figure 2.5. Water Jet Forming Process [12].

2.1.6. Spinning

Spinning is the forerunner of asymmetric incremental sheet metal forming. It can be broken
down into the following three subgroups:
- conventional spinning;
- shear forming;
- flow forming.

Figure 2.6. Conventional spinning and shear forming of a cone [4].

In conventional Spinning axis-symmetric parts are gradually formed over a mandrel using a
rounded tool or roller. The equipment needed is similar to a lathe to clamp the blank sheet metal on
the center in a mandrel, and this set is resolved. The tool applies a localized pressure to deform the
blank by axial and radial motions over the surface of the part. The tool can be manual or
mechanically actuated and the tool production costs are low being suitable for producing small
series because usually involves a sequence of steps.
11
 Shear Spinning is similar to Conventional Spinning and the difference is the action which is
stretching instead of bending. This fact has a major influence on the variation of thickness along the
wall which follows the commonly known sine law.

Figure 2.7. The spinning sine law and the shear spin-ability test designed by Kegg [4]

2.1.7. Incremental Sheet Forming Process (ISFP)

The incremental sheet forming process is one of the required trial manufacturing processes.
The incremental forming process goes way back to the conventional spinning process and in which
only axis-symmetric parts can be made. Recently, many other processes which can make both non-
axis-symmetric parts as well as axis-symmetric parts have been developed [5].
The incremental sheet metal forming process enables the manufacturing of a desired shape
by an incremental deformation in a small contacted region. A hemispherical head tool moves over
an arbitrary surface that is one sliced surface of the whole geometry. Because of this slicing
technique, complicated products can be fabricated by using a simple shaped punch with a non-
dedicated die.

Figure 2.8. Schematic representation of the incremental Backward Bulge process [6].

In Stretch Expanding, as in Spinning, only rotational symmetrical shapes can be formed,

although in this case the deformation is done through the relative rotation of the blank (along with
the rotation head) and the tool without using a mandrel, as shown in Figure 2.9.
12
 Figure 2.9. Incremental Stretch Expanding Process scheme [7]

The ISMF process can be divided into three different classifications: the Single Point
Incremental Forming (SPIF), the Incremental Forming with Counter Tool (IFCT) and the Two Point
Incremental Forming (TPIF).

2.2. Single Point Incremental Forming

Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is a new sheet metal forming process with a high
potential economic payoff for rapid prototyping applications and for small quantity production [9].
Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is the process of converting a flat sheet metal into a
contoured final geometry using one deformation point. It enables three-dimensional shaping of a
sheet metal without a high cost die [8].

Figure 2.10. Schematic representation of SPIF [9].

Most investigations of SPIF have concerned applications and formability limits of the
process. So far, the investigations lead to the conclusion that the formability of the process can be
defined in terms of four major parameters:
- thickness of the speed;
- size of the vertical step down per revolution;
- speed (both rotational and feed rate);
- radius of the forming tool [9].
13
 The main advantages of the SPIF Process are [11].
- Production of parts directly from the CAD file;
- Inexistence of positive or negative die;
- Increase of material formability;
- Can be performed in a conventional CNC machine;
- Due to the incremental nature of the process forces are small;
- Dimension of parts are only limited by the machine tool;
- Good surface finish quality can be achieved.

The main disadvantages of the SPIF Process are:

- Longer forming time compared with conventional Deep Drawing Process;
- Limited to small size production batches;
- The forming of right angles must be achieved by multi-stage strategies;
- Spring back occurs, although it can be minimized using some correction algorithms;
- Less geometry accuracy, particularly in convex radii and bending edges areas.

2.3. Incremental Forming with Counter Tool

The Incremental Forming with Counter Tool (IFWCT) is a variation of SPIF that does not
use backing plate, and instead a counter tool is utilizing that makes the same trajectory of the main
tool [11].

Figure 2.11. Schematic representation of Incremental Forming with Counter Tool[11].

2.4. Two Point Incremental Forming

In Two Point Incremental Forming (TPIF) the blank is clamped in the blank holder which
can be adjusted in the Z axis. The forming tool is similar to the tool in SPIF and performs a
trajectory of the outer surface of the part, from top to bottom of the geometry. TPIF can be separated
in two categories:
- with partial die, Figure 2.12;
- with full die, Figure 2.13.

2.4.1. Two Point Incremental Forming (partial die)

The partial die here has the same function as the backing plate in SPIF, supporting only the
essential areas of the blank and also, enhancing the geometry accuracy. With unspecific geometry,
the same partial die can be used to make different parts with similar geometry.
14
 Figure 2.12. TPIF (partial die) [13].

2.4.2. Two Point Incremental Forming (full die)

TPIF with full die is not considered as a die-less approach and has the advantage of good
geometry accuracy of parts, because the blank during forming is constrained by the tool and the die.
As disadvantages, the cost of this process is higher due to the costs associated with the die
material (steel, aluminum, plastic, wood or foam) and fabrication [11]. Poor flexibility it is also
important to refer because it is needed a specific die for each specific part.

Figure 2.13. TPIF (full die)

2.5. Multistage Forming

For every material with a specific thickness, a maximum forming angle can be determined
by means of a simple cone forming test in were parameters like incremental step size and tool
diameter are kept constant. Using conventional tool paths, when a sufficiently portion of a work
piece has a wall angle that exceeds this maximum angle, the part will fail during processing.
This maximum wall angle limits the process and it is easy to see that is impossible to make
parts with right angle walls, because the wall thickness in this condition would be zero according to
the sine law. It has been experimentally verified that the process follows this law with a tendency to
over form slightly.
15
 To increase the maximum wall angle, the initial thickness of the sheet can be increased but
obviously this strategy has limitations on the maximum machine load and overall part thickness
specifications. The diameters of the tool and the selected step down also have an influence on the
maximum forming angle.
Another strategy to obtain large wall angles is to aim for material redistribution by shifting
material from other zones in the part to the inclined wall areas.
Finally, several authors have already adopted multistage strategies. Consecutive tool paths,
corresponding to virtual parts with increasing wall angles, are being executed in a multi-step
procedure. Typically a large offset from the backing plate is favored for the first passes since this
allows for more bending, avoiding extreme strains near the top of the part.
Also in order to overcoming this limitation some researchers applied multiple stages
strategies with success (using pre-forms) [11].

Figure 2.14. SPIF Multistage strategy [11].

Recently Kjoedt proposed a solution to obtain cones with vertical walls, for SPIF without
support through a forming strategy shown in the Figure 2.15 [11].

Figure 2.15. Five stage forming

Also Douflou used multistage strategies to achieve non-rotation parts, see Figure 2.16.

Figure 2.16. Non-rotational part [11].

16
2.6. Application of Incremental Sheet Forming Process

The ISFP applications can be separated in two different main areas [11]:

- Rapid prototyping for automotive industry, for example: reflexive surfaces for headlights,
see Figure 2.17, a heat/vibration shield, see Figure 2.18 and a silencer housing for trucks,
see Figure 2.19,

Figure 2.17. Reflexive surface for headlights.

Figure 2.18. Automotive heat/vibration shield. Figure 2.19. Silencer housing for trunks.

- Non-automotive applications, for example: motorbike seats, motorbike gas tank, solar oven,
production dies, moulds surfaces and some medical applications.

Figure 2.20. Medical application of ISMF (cranial plate) [14].

17
 Figure 2.21. Medical application of ISMF (dental plate)

Some other possible fields of application for ISMF are architecture, home appliances
industry, aerospace and marine industry.

2.7. New Incremental Forming Process Configurations

In order to obtain a rectangular shell, forming vertical wall and improve finishing of the
bottom of parts, Iseki and Naganawa [15] proposed a special tool, see Figure xx to be used after a
part is pre-formed.

a). b).
Figure 2.22. Incremental forming using cylindrical rollers [16].
a). Vertical wall surface forming.
b). Bottom surface finishing.

Shankar and others [16] investigated the use ISMF of performed sheet by Simple Bending,
Deep drawing, spinning etc, in order to enhance geometrical accuracy and thickness distribution. As
conclusion, the parts had higher thickness and lower spring back.
Another configuration called Sliding Sheet Incremental Forming, was proposed by
Ambrogio and others authors [17] in order to increase formability without excessive thinning. In this
case, instead of clamping the sheet, the blank holder has a controlled force that allows radial flow of
the flange material. This characteristic increases the formability and decreases the sheet thinning. In
the other hand, ISMF flexibility is compromised due to more complex equipment [11].

18
2.8. References
1. Shima S. IPMM 2001, The 3rd International Conference on Intelligent Processing and
Manufacturing of Materials (Vancouver, Canada 29 July – 3 August 2001)
State of the art – incremental forming.
http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?requester=gs&collection=TRD&recid=200212
P30709AI&q=State-of-the-Art+incremental+forming&uid=791526944&setcookie=yes#
2. Nichil R. Dhar, Ph. D. Lecture – 14, Sheet metal Forming Processes, Department of
Industrial & Production Engineering, BUET. http://www.scribd.com/doc/17283617/Sheet-
Metal-Forming-Processes
3. Zhong-Yi Cai, Ming-Zhe Li (Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 30 April 2005)
Finite element simulation of multi-point sheet forming process based on implicit scheme.
Roll Forging Research Institue, Jilin University, Chabgchun, China
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924013604009690
4. J. Jeswiet, F. Micari, G. Hirt, A. Bramley, J. Duflou, J. Allwood (CIRP Annals –
Manufacturing Technology) Asymmetric Single Point Incremental Forming of Sheet Metal.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007850607600213
5. T. J. Kim, D. Y. Yang (International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, July 2000)
Improvement of formability for the incremental sheet metal forming process. Department of
Mechanical Engineering, South Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020740399000478
6. E. Hagan, J. Jeswiet (Journal of Engineering Manufacture, 2003, 213-225) A review of
conventional and modern single-point sheet metal forming methods. Queen’s University
Department of Mechanical Engineering. Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
http://pib.sagepub.com/content/217/2/213.short
7. S. Matsubara (Journal of the Japan Society For technology of plasticity, 1994) Incremental
backward bulge forming of a sheet metal with a hemispherical tool.
8. G. Hussain, L. Gao, N. Hayat, Xu. Ziran (Journal of Materials Processing Technology,
2009) A new formability indicator in single point incremental forming.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924013608007413
9. P.A.F. Martinis, N. Bay, M. Skjoedt, M.B. Silva (CIRP Annals – Manufacturing
Technology 2008) Theory of single point incremental forming.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0007850608001248
10. T. Schäfer, Prof. R. D. Schraft (10éme Assises Européennes de Prototypage Rapide – 14 &
15 septemre 2004, Fraunhofer Institute Manufacturing Engineering and Automation,
Stuttgart, Germany) Incremental sheet metal forming by industrial robots using a
hammering tool.
11. J. L. Padrão de Brito Câmara (Dissertação para obtenção do Grau de Mestre un
Engenharia Mecânica, Setembro de 2009) Single Point Incremental Forming. Instituto
Superior Técnico, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Portugal.
https://dspace.ist.utl.pt/bitstream/2295/573268/1/dissertacao.pdf
12. Bostjan Jurisevic, Karl Kuzman, Mihael Junkar (Springer-Verlag London Limited 2005,
Published online: 17 november 2005) Water jetting technology: an alternative in
incremental sheet metal forming. http://www.springerlink.com/content/p115222440p77520/
13. R. Shankar, S. Jadhav, R. Goebel, W. Homberg, M. Kleiner (Proceeding of the 8th
International Conference on Technology of Plasticity, Verona, Italy, 2005) Incremental
Sheet Metal Forming of Preformed Sheets.

19
14. J. Duflou, Production Processes – Cranial plate (Courtesy Unident Nv. Belgium)
Department of Mechanical Engineering.
http://www.mech.kuleuven.be/pp/research/spif_cranial.en.html
15. H. Iseki, T. Naganawa (Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 130-131, 2002 675-
679) Vertical wall surface forming of rectangular shell using multistage incremental forming
with spherical and cylindrical rollers.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0924013602007355
16. R. Shankar, S. Jadhav, R. Goebel, W. Homberg, M, Kleiner (8th International Conference
on Technology of Plasticity, Verona, Italy 2005) Incremental sheet metal forming of
proformed sheets.
17. G. Ambrogio, L. Filice, F. Gagliardi, F. Macari (8th International Conference on
Technology of Plasticity, Verona, Italy 2005) Sheet Incremental Forming: A New Process
Configuration allowing a Sheet Material controlled flow under the Blank holder.

20
 CHAPTER III
The geometric modeling of the robot

3.1. Introduction

In robotics, we assign one or more frames to each link of the robot and each object of the
work cell. Thus, transformation of frames is a fundamental concept in the modeling and
programming of a robot. It enables us to:
- Compute the location, position and orientation of robot links relative to each other;
- Describe the position and orientation of objects;
- Specify the trajectory and velocity of the end-effector of a robot for a desired task;
- Describe and control the forces when the robot interacts with its environment;
Implement sensory-based control using information provided by various sensors, each having its
own reference frame [Khalil, pag. 13].

The design and control of a robot requires the computation of some mathematical models
such as:
- Transformation models between the joint space (in which the configuration of the robot
is defined) and the task space (in which the location of the end-effector is specified).
These transformation models are very important since robots are controlled in the joint
space, whereas tasks are defined in the task space. Two classes of models are considered:
 Direct and inverse geometric models, which give the location of the end-effector
as a function of the joint variables of the mechanism and vice versa;
 Direct and inverse kinematic models, which give the location of the end-effector
as a function of the joint velocities and vice versa;
Dynamic models giving the relations between the input torques or forces of the actuators and the
positions, velocities and accelerations of the joints [Khalil, pag. 35].
The goal of this chapter is to present the geometric description of the FANUC S-420iF robot.
Also we will represent the Direct Geometric Model (DGM) and the Inverse Geometric Model (IGM)
which correspond for this application.

3.2. Geometric modeling of the robot

The robot axes are placed so as to respect the sense of drive shafts on real structure. There is
a constraint closing of the parallelogram to be taken into account in the modeling of the robot.
Indeed, a joint offset on axis 2 causes a movement along the axis 3. However an offset on axis 3 has
no effect on axis 2. Values of the different geometric parameters are given by the manufacturer of
the robot.
In Figure 3.1, is represented the lateral view of the FANUC S-420iF. Given the direction of
rotation of the links of the robot, to calculate the geometric model of the robot was created the
scheme from Figure 3.2 which represent the cinematic scheme of the FANUC S-420 robot, and in
Figure 3.3, are represented the link coordinate frames for the same robot.
21