Prediction of forming forces in Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) is specially important in the case of using adapted machinery not designed for the process. Moreover, forming force is an important indicator that can be monitored on-line and utilized for real time process control. Besides experimentation, simulations based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) have been utilized as a reliable source of process force data. Nevertheless, the long solution times required to simulate ISF renders difficult its inclusion into a process optimization chain. In consequence, models that predict the forces required to manufacture simple parts have appeared. This work begins with a review of forming force models available for Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF). Then, an equation recently proposed in the literature is compared with published experimental results of SPIF under different working conditions. The same data is employed to verify our own FEM simulations. Finally, the above-mentioned formula and FEM simulation were applied to predict the forming force of Variable Wall Angle (VWA) geometries where available force information is limited. Besides the applicability assessment of the equation, results will supplement a future experimental campaign focused in modeling geometries of intermediate complexity level by means of Computational Intelligence methods.
Recent mechanical engineering graduates are expected to utilize Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in structural and machine design activities. However, after decades of implementation in engineering schools, the Finite Element Method (FEM) still challenges instructors and course designers. To align learning outcomes with industrial requirements, this article analyzes the opinions of Mexican industrial and academic experts about four important aspects of FEM education. The results suggest that specialists agree on the importance of including a mixture of theoretical and applied topics in the syllabus but prefer practical skills over fundamental concepts. Besides learning from defeaturing to postprocessing a model, engineering students must know how to plan, verify, and validate their finite element studies. Experts expect early design engineers to be proficient with Computer‐Aided Design (CAD) and have relevant mathematical and programming skills. Instead of using specialized software, students' first exposure to FEM may be based on FEA tools embedded in CAD systems. Also, academic and industrial respondents request the incorporation of modal, thermal and nonlinear analysis procedures in the course timetable. Finally, the statistical analysis shows that the two types of respondents share one common vision about the importance of the aspects under study. The findings from this work are useful for the design of FEM‐related coursework and can be used to guide course instructors about the right balance of theory and practice, overall course contents, and the selection of the software utilized for the practical part of the program.
In addition to its technical and economical advantages, Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) has been recognized as an environmentally friendlier process in comparison to its conventional counterparts. As a result, during the past two decades ISF has been the central topic of different research groups trying to overcome the barriers limiting its use as a widespread manufacturing process. Aiming to improve the geometrical accuracy of ISF, University of Brescia has been working with TPIF using both experimental and numerical approaches. Among others, an ISF process representative geometry has been the focus of previous studies where different parameters were varied in order to quantify their influence in the results. Besides the insight obtained from this strategy, a rich database of experimental results has been generated which allows to validate numerical models. Following this trend, the present work presents recent advances in the simulation of TPIF. Initially, numerical results were compared to experimental measurements in order to assess the robustness of the modeling technique. Finally, as a first step to improve the accuracy of numerical predictions, the influence of modeling parameters in the force results was investigated.
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