Using Micro-incremental sheet forming: Investigating the effects of forming factors on part accuracy and formability of miniature product.

Micro scale forming methods for customized product requires specifically designed dies and high investment cost; thus limiting their use and flexibility. To overcome these barriers, micro incremental sheet forming (micro-ISF), which is a die-less process has emerged as a viable solution for the fabrication of customized products and prototypes. Current work focuses performance evaluation of ISF to form a miniature product of AA6061 owing to its significant potential applications across various fields, including aerospace, biomedical, micro-implants, microelectronics and defense industries. For this, effects of forming factors like feed rate, spindle speed, step size, wall angle and tilt angle were analyzed on dimensional accuracy. Additionally, the impact of tilt angle on formability in term of steeper wall angle was also analyzed. Dimensional accuracy was measured in term of roundness error and half cone angle deviation. Results showed that spindle speed, feed rate and wall angle are significant parameters affecting dimensional accuracy in micro-ISF. Tilt angle, has significantly improved the formability of the product by forming a successful component at 70º using 4º of tilt. Additionally, a 44% improvement in forming depth was achieved by increasing the tilt angle from 0º to 4º at an 80º wall angle.