The Development of Incremental Sheet Forming from Flexible Forming to Fully Integrated Production of Sheet Metal Parts

Abstract

Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) was devised as a flexible forming process in the 1990s. The basic principle of ISF is that a generic forming tool moves along a tool path and progressively forms a metal sheet into the desired shape. The tool is either moved using CNC machines or industrial robots. Applying CNC technology or robots to sheet metal forming allows for replacing expensive dedicated tooling and for a fast transfer from the CAD model to the formed part. Since its first applications in the 1990s ISF has undergone tremendous developments. Various process variants such as double-sided ISF and hybrid process combinations such as heat-assisted ISF as well as stretch-forming and ISF have been put forward. The present contribution gives an overview of these developments with a special focus on the outcome of the research accomplished within the cluster of excellence "Integrative Production Technology for High Wage Countries", where the development of fully integrated sheet metal production facilities is envisioned as the next evolution step of ISF. The development of dedicated equipment for hybrid and fully integrated sheet metal manufacturing and specialized CAX environments as well as applications are described to show the potential of the technology.

Single point incremental forming: state-of-the-art and prospects

“…For the two variants mentioned above, a CAD/CAPP/CAM (CAX) environment is needed that provides solutions for tool path planning for the combination of stretch-forming with up to 8 axes and 5-axis ISF as well as for laser-assisted ISF. In order to accommodate these processes, new CAM features have been developed and implemented into a CAX platform (Hirt et al 2015). Requirements for the development of a CAX environment for ISF in combination with SF are (i) to allow the creation of NC paths both directly in the CAX system and by reading out machine data during manual operation modes of the stretch-forming modules, and (ii) the simulation and collision checking of the forming tool and the stretch forming units.…”

“…The hybrid process with 8 stretch-forming axes and 5-axes ISF makes it necessary to perform a machine simulation with collision detection to operate the hybrid machine safely. To this end a full-scale virtual simulation of the combined process is performed (Hirt et al 2015). In addition to the SF+ISF process, a laser-assisted ISF variant which uses the laser source on the same side as the forming tool has been developed (Göttmann et al, 2011).…”

“…5.6. Integration of laser as rotation axis (left) and integration into the machine via a PLC controller (right) (Hirt et al 2015).…”

Double-Sided Incremental Forming: A Review

“…The main advantages of ISF include its "dieless" feature, easy adaptation, and simple structure of the tool system as compared with many conventional sheet-forming processes, which require a complex press and dedicated tool system. The flexibility and low setup cost allow ISF to be implemented to manufacture lowvolume, high-value, and even customized parts [4]. For instance, a limited number of replacement parts have been made by Honda with Amino through the ISF process [1].…”

Using Ag Sinter Paste to Improve the Luminous Flux and Reliability of InGaN-Based LED Package for Commercial Vehicle Daytime Running Light

“…[17][18][19][20][21] In previous studies, the adhesion between die adhesive and the metal surface of packages and their thermal characteristics have been mostly investigated. [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29] Further, DRL is subjected to stress and high temperature; stress is developed during the forming (bending) process of LED module for stylish DRL and high temperature environment is created by a head lamp and a vehicle engine. Thus, in this study, we investigated the optical and thermal performance, and reliability of LED module fabricated with different types of Ag adhesive pastes for DRL, which is currently used in commercial products.…”