METODOLOGÍA PARA ESTABLECER UN PROCEDIMIENTO EXPERIMENTAL Y DE SIMULACIÓN DEL PROCESO DE CONFORMADO INCREMENTAL DE CHAPA

Deep drawing is one of the traditional stamping processes used for producing large-batch sheet metal parts. When a prototype or a small batch of parts have to be produced, the Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) technique should be considered. Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) process is one of the mostly-used options as they do not require complex facilities. Many studies of SPIF have been shown in the literature, especially for aluminum alloys and low carbon steels. In this work, a SPIF process of ASTM B-265 grade 2 Titanium sheet has been experimented. An introspection to the simulation has been carried out by the finite element method (FEM) in a Solidworks® environment that is not usually used in this arena. Three different simplified experiments have been performed in order to establish the potential of Solidworks FEM SPIF simulation. An instrumented blankholder has been built to measure the forces that act on the sheet and the tool. Experimental and simulated results were compared and a high grade of agreement was found what demonstrates that typical non-linearities involved in the process are well simulated with this kind of software. It has been found that Solidworks® FEM is limited to a short path processes. The experimental method herein presented has been well established by forming complete shapes. Keywords: Incremental Sheet Forming; titanium, simulation, MEF