Incremental forming of free surface with magnesium alloy AZ31 sheet at warm temperatures

Abstract

The formability of AZ31 sheet begins to increase drastically at 150 degrees C. The incremental forming technique was thus applied to AZ31 sheet at 150 degrees C to utilize the formability to its fullest capacity at the lowest possible temperature for forming applications. A surface scanning technique was used followed by the tool path generation to incrementally form an egg surface. After thorough examination of various tool paths, the surface was most successfully produced by forming an intermediate shape followed by a series of tool paths. Flexible scale stickers were devised to improve the accuracy in the measurement of grid deformation.