A General Method of Numerical Simulation for Incremental Forming

This paper presents a general simulation method for sheet metal incremental forming(ISF). Firstly, a three-dimensional finite element model based on Dynaform was developed to simulate the process. The tool path during the process simulation was directly defined by numerical control (NC) code and so identical with that in operation. Then, the results of numerical simulations with different process parameters, such as tool diameter, depth increment and wall angle, were discussed in details. The simulations reveal that with the decreasing depth step, increasing tool diameter and wall inclination angle, the axial stress reduces and leads to thinning reduction and more uniform thickness distribution. In addition, as the definition of the tool path was in accord with the genuine motion trajectory of the tool, the results deduced from this model may be more precise compared with those from other previously simplified models.