The present work focuses on the manufacturing of Ti-6Al-4V parts using hot single point incremental forming (SPIF), a non-conventional forming technology mainly oriented toward the fabrication of prototypes, spare parts, or very low volume series. In the used procedure, the entire sheet is heated and kept at uniform temperature while the tool incrementally forms the part, with the limited accuracy of the obtained parts being the major drawback of the process. Thus, this work proposes two approaches to improve the geometric accuracy of Ti-6Al-4V SPIF parts: (i) correct the tool path by applying an intelligent process model (IPM) that counteracts deviations associated with the springback, and (ii) skip overforming deviations associated with the deflection of the sheet along the perimeter of the part based on a design improvement. For this purpose, a generic asymmetric design that incorporates features of a typical aerospace Ti-6Al-4V part is used. The results point out the potential of both solutions to significantly improve the accuracy of the parts. The application of the IPM model leads to an accuracy improvement up to 49%, whereas a 25.4% improvement can be attributed to the addendum introduction. The geometric accuracy study includes the two finishing operations needed to obtain the part, namely decontamination and trimming.

The lightweight metal alloy Ti-6Al-4V is widely used in the aeronautical industry due to its excellent mechanical properties. However, it is known the difficulty to deform Ti-6Al-4V sheets at room temperature because of its microstructure conditions. The present work focuses on the evaluation of formability of Ti-6Al-4V sheets using hot single point incremental forming (SPIF) process which it seems appropriate to produce small batches of parts due to its flexibility as it allows a significant reduction of costs and lead times. In order to characterize the SPIF of Ti-6Al-4V under hot forming conditions, a set of forming trials evaluation tests was carried out. The obtained results have allowed identifying the key process features and have demonstrated the potential of the proposed approach to hot form of small amounts of Ti-6Al-4V parts.

Two relevant references of the IJPEM journal have been included in the final version (ref. 2 and ref. 24). Regarding the JPGT, a relevant paper related to the topic of the present manuscript had already been included (ref. 11).•The box frame of several figures has been removed.Yours Sincerely,

Laser Metal Deposition (LMD) or laser cladding is a technology capable of coating, repairing and manufacturing components by injecting molten metal powder on a substrate. Some of the advantages of this technology are: wide range of materials available in powder, reduced thermal distortion, coatings and repaired parts of high quality. However, the biggest advantage can be its relative ease of implementation in a multiprocess machine tool and subsequent automatization. The supply of hybrid machines in the world market that implements the LMD process is increasing (IBARMIA, DMG MORI, MAZAK, OKUMA, etc...), making the production more flexible in a single machine and introducing this process in more applications and industrial sectors. However, hybridization also presents problems that are difficult to solve. Some of the most noteworthy are those associated with the use of powdered metallic material both from the point of view of the safety and hygiene of the operators and also of the waste management and integrity of the machine itself, being its most serious effects at lower efficiency of the process. In this article, the study of the efficiency of different LMD nozzles is addressed for the coating of a hardened steel using for it the hybrid multiprocess machine IBARMIA ZVH45 /1600 Add + process, with the aim of finding the most efficient and, therefore (the one that generates less waste) and which, in turn, offers good productivity. Keywords: Laser cladding, hybrid manufacturing, LMD, coatings, hardened steel, wear resistance, coaxial nozzle.

The consequences of gravity and the nozzle inclination angle in the powder-fed Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process were examined in this study. We also sought to define guidelines and manufacturing strategies, depending on the DED system configuration and the nozzle type. To do so, two nozzle types were used: a continuous coaxial nozzle with a slit of 0.5 mm and a four-stream discrete coaxial nozzle. Although the main effects of the configurations and the nozzles are well-known, their effects on the clad characteristics and the deposition strategy are as yet unclear. In this paper, measurements of a single clad and the effects of different deposition strategies on cladding applications and inclined walls are presented, and the consequences for manufacturing processes are discussed. Based on a complete study of a single clad, working vertically, five different tilted deposition strategies were applied: three to a single clad and two to an inclined wall. The results for both the single clad and the inclined wall reflect a pattern of changes to height, width, area, and efficiency, at both small and large nozzle angles and deposition strategies. The inclined wall presents a maximum horizontal displacement that can be reached per layer, without geometrical distortions. The amount of material per layer has to be adapted to this limitation.