Project and construction of a single point incremental forming machine

• Autor(a) principal: Martins, Miguel António Batista Esteves
• Data de Publicação: 2011
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10773/7752
• topic: Engenharia mecânica; Design técnico; Maquinaria; Estampagem; Chapas metálicas - Estampagem

Single Point Incremental Forming is a recent technology that is currently under development. Its applicability is diverse because it allows the attainment of functional parts in sheet metal without great costs. Due to this characteristic, areas such as biomechanics, rapid prototyping and products of customizable features make this process a target of interest. Unfortunately, the means of obtaining parts using single point incremental forming are limited. Usually, CNC machining centers are utilized but due to their cutting-type characteristics, the implementation of the Single Point Incremental Forming is limited and inefficient. Also, the market supply of dedicated machinery requires high investments, thus becoming an unattractive solution. A major obstacle to the application of this technique focuses on the superior time of forming especially when compared to conventional forming techniques. Another disadvantage of this process is the low dimensional accuracy, however, with the development of numerical studies and correction algorithms this problem tends to be minimized. This work aims to complete the project of a single point incremental forming machine that began in previous years. This project has the objective of overcoming the limitations of the current incremental forming machines, but not ignoring the economic factor. Also, this project aims to enlarge the horizons for future research and development of the process, not only improving the machine but also developing and understanding the forming mechanism and the consequent effects of improved material formability.