Application of Femtosecond Laser Peen Forming to Sheet Metal Bending

A focused femtosecond laser can induce shock waves at irradiated target surface. Under some irradiation conditions, the shock waves are powerful enough to deform a metal target plastically. Laser peen forming is a sheet metal forming process using this deformation. The author adopted laser peen forming with femtosecond laser as a thin-sheet-metal bending. This process is appropriate for small parts production. The forming properties of a pure aluminum sheet were investigated. Some irradiation conditions, fluence and density of irradiated pulses, were changed. Using clarified forming properties, some pieces of phosphor bronze and stainless steel sheets were bent in various shapes. Some of these bent shapes are difficult to achieve with conventional press forming. Simple change of processing parameters and scanning paths allowed to form various shapes. This result means that the process is suitable for multikind small lot production.