Incremental sheet forming

---

Institute for Manufacturing management policy technology

Dept of Engineering	IfM Home	News	Contact	People	Research	Education	Services	Courses & events	Books	Local

Sustainable Manufacturing Group SMG home page Research projects Research partners Group members Seminars Contact us Incremental sheet forming machine (research rig)

Incremental Sheet Forming Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) is a flexible process for forming sheet metal under the action of a mobile indenter such that almost any 3D shell shape can be made without specialised tooling. The process is recognised as a sustainable technology because it has the potential to enable a move towards small-scale localised production of customised sheet metal parts, as well as re-engineering of damaged or obsolete products. Aims To understand the process mechanics and expand the process capabilities in order to develop a flexible manufacturing system that is capable of achieving the specifications of typical sheet metal applications. To achieve this goal, the project seeks to: develop a technique for prediction and correction of elastic springback measure and predict forces on the indenter expand the process capabilities by experimenting with a range of set-ups The technology An ISF machine was commissioned at the IfM in October 2004. The machine was designed and built in-house and is the first dedicated rig built outside Japan. Unique features include a built-in force measurement system, rigid and accurate support of the indenter in three directions and space under the workpiece for the future addition of a second indenter. The path of the indenter is numerically controlled via a PCI board motion controller. Applications Potential applications include: manufacture or repair of automotive parts custom-made medical braces such as ankle supports bespoke architectural features casing for electrical goods Current research Research projects currently underway include: development of a model for tool force prediction with experimental verification development of a model for the prediction of elastic springback. Researchers Kathryn Jackson Julian Allwood Funding EPSRC Duration 2004 - 2007

a-z site index about the IfM the Institute for Manufacturing is a part of the Department of Engineering Go to top of page

This page is from the Institute for Manufacturing, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge
www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk