Finite element simulation of two-point incremental forming of free-form parts

Two-point incremental forming method is considered a modern technique for manufacturing shell parts. The presence of bottom punch during the process makes this technique far more complex than its conventional counterpart i.e. single-point incremental forming method. Thus, the numerical simulation of this method is an essential task, which leads to the reduction of trial/error costs, predicts the tearing of sheet and investigates various aspects of this complex method. Most of the previous works regarding numerical simulation of incremental forming method have concentrated on the single-point type of this technique. Moreover, all of these simulations have considered simple geometries like truncated cone, truncated hemisphere and truncated regular pyramid, which are based on well-known mathematical functions. In this study, a novel simplified procedure is presented for the finite element simulation of two-point incremental forming of free-form parts. The procedure is based on the extraction of tool-path points by using CAM software and the finite element model. In the current study, it will be shown how simulated results can be applicable for gaining useful information about the tearing of deforming sheets, selecting suitable numerical machines for practical forming processes and the deformation quality of sheets.