Incremental sheet forming process has been proved to be quiet suitable and economical for job and batch type production, which exempts expensive and complex tooling for sheet forming. Investigation of forming forces becomes important for selecting the appropriate hardware and optimal process parameters in order to assure perfection and precision of process. Moreover, lack of available knowledge regarding the process parameters makes the process limited for industrial applications. This research paper aims at finding out effects of different input factors on forming forces in single-point incremental forming (SPIF) process. For operation sustainability and hardware safety, it becomes critical to optimize forming forces for a given set of factors to form a particular shape. In this study, optimization of input factors has been performed to produce conical frustums with helical tool path using Taguchi analysis as design of experiment (DOE) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The optimal experimental conditions for forming forces have been calculated as sheet thickness (0.8 mm), step size (0.2 mm), tool diameter (7.52 mm), tool shape (hemispherical), spindle speed (1000 rpm), feed rate (1000 mm/min) and wall angle (50 o). Effects of tool shape and viscosity of lubricants have also been investigated. An intensive understanding of the mechanism of forming forces has been presented, which shows that force trend after peak values depends upon instant input factors that can be categorized as a safe, severe and crucial set of parameters.

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Incremental sheet forming (ISF) significantly exempts use of expensive dies and reduces tooling cost for manufacturing complex parts in the field of sheet metal forming which makes it suitable for manufacturing prototypes and low volume production as compared to other traditional sheet metal forming processes. ISF also finds suitability for producing components of old machinery, which are otherwise very difficult to form due to the unavailability of forming dies. Moreover, the incremental nature of the process and local deformation of the sheet ensures higher formability and lower required forming force. To take advantages of lower required forming force, it is important to minimize and estimate forming force through the manipulation of the parameters for the safe utilization of hardware. In this review article, a literature survey was carried out quantitatively to study different aspects of ISF, especially to show different process parameters and techniques that affect the forming forces significantly. The current state of the art of the ISF process has been discussed with detailed analysis of process capabilities and limitations in terms of forming forces. Influences of different process parameters and forming techniques have also been studied on forming forces. Some parameters have shown their significance to control the forming force in order to preserve forming machinery. A lack of focus was found on effects of some important forming process parameters and methods, which could have been crucial for safe utilization of forming hardware. A number of guidelines have been recommended for future research work. Appropriate guidelines have also been suggested regarding the relationship between process parameters and forming forces developed during the process in order to ensure the applicability of the ISF process on the industrial scale.

Abstract-Manufacturing of small batch size products and prototypes are not economical using conventional forming processes as these processes require dedicated and highly specialized equipments such as forming presses, dies, and punches. Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) process has been confirmed as quiet economical process for rapid prototyping and batch type production. In this work, process variables are investigated on axial peak forces on AA2024-O sheets. A strain gauge based dynamometer has been used to record axial peak forces during incremental process. Combination of higher wall angle and higher tool diameter leads to larger axial forces which can be limitation of the capacity of the machine tool and forming tools used in the process. Higher sheet thickness not only requires larger forming forces to form the components but also increases formability of the material.

Concerns about the environmental impacts of used and discarded products have recently led to enactment of laws that regulate the amounts of hazardous substances and recyclable content in products. The laws also make the Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) responsible for recovery and proper treatment of these end-of-life products. In this two part paper, we present methodologies for OEMs to use the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) framework to effectively meet the challenges posed by these regulations. In this second part, we outline a methodology that can enable case-by-case selection of the treatment strategy for incoming end-of-life products. To extract product information required for this selection, we develop rule-based heuristics for identification of joints directly from CAD assembly models, along with their type, size, location and orientation.