Ultrasonic vibration–assisted incremental sheet metal forming

This paper presents a comprehensive investigation on the incremental sheet metal forming assisted by ultrasonic vibration (UV). With the aid of a new acoustoplasticity constitutive model which can accurately capture the deformation response to ultra-high strain rates, extensive numerical analyses on incremental sheet metal forming under UV were conducted by using the finite element method. Corresponding experimental investigations were also carried out to examine the capacity of the constitutive and numerical models. The effects of critical parameters, such as tool size, tool revolution speed, feed rate, pitch and tool vibration amplitude, on the forming force, maximum sheet thickness reduction and springback, were investigated in detail. It was found that the models can realistically predict the incremental sheet metal forming under UV. It is expected that this research can facilitate the development of ultrasonic vibration–assisted forming techniques.