Preliminary studies on single point incremental forming for thermoplastic materials

This paper presents some preliminary investigations on applicability of Single Point Incremental Forming techniques (SPIF) to thermoplastic materials. A 24-1 fractional factorial design of experiments with three replications was performed to investigate the effects of forming parameters on material formability. To study the formability of the thermoplastic sheets, a cone-shaped part with circular generatrix with varying wall angles with respect to depth was considered. The formability of SPIF to the thermoplastic sheets can be defined in terms of the maximum wall angle reached without tearing and/or failure. This angle was measured at position where the mechanical failure of the deformed sheet occurred such as wrinkling, crushing and tearing. It is concluded that the existing knowledge and know-how of sheet metal on SPIF process can be applied to thermoplastic sheets that has potential and preeminent benefits.