The effect of the extrusion direction on the incremental forming quality considering tool deformation

The existing CNC (Computer numerical control) incremental forming mostly adopt the 3-axis CNC incremental forming method whose extrusion direction is always parallel to the Z-axis. However, with the increasing demand for the forming of the complex shape sheet metal part, the researches on the 5-axis CNC incremental forming technology are on the rise, and one of the most important problems in the researches is the reasonable choice of the extrusion direction. To this end, the influence of the extrusion direction on the forming quality was studied. In the actual CNC incremental forming, the deformation of the extrusion tool under the action of the forming force would directly affect the forming accuracy. Therefore, the extrusion tool was regarded as a deformable body and the deformation of the extrusion tool was fully considered in this study, which occurred under the action of the forming force. The numerical simulation and actual forming experiments of the 5-axis CNC incremental forming process were carried out to analyze the effects of the different extrusion directions on the forming quality.