Incremental forming is an innovative sheet metal forming technology. It is a promising flexible and inexpensive method to form sheet products in small batches. One technique within this technology is single point incremental forming which allows producing complex shape using a computer numerical control machine. It is a new sheet metal forming process which achieves higher formability, greater process flexibility and reduced forming forces compared to conventional sheet forming operations due to its characteristic of localized deformation. In this paper, an experiment was conducted to study the effects of several parameters (tool diameter, feed rate, step size and sheet thickness) on forming forces to provide a better understanding of the process parameters leading to achieve a successful product. Experiments were performed based on a full factorial design of experiment technique. The formed sheets were made of AA1050-H14 aluminum alloy.
Keywords:
Incremental forming, Single point incremental forming, Design of Experiment, AA1050