Experimental and numerical investigation on surface quality for two-point incremental sheet forming with interpolator

The unsatisfied surface quality seriously impedes the wide application of incremental sheet forming (ISF) in industrial field. As a novel approach, the interpolator method is a promising strategy to enhance the surface quality in ISF. However, the mechanism for the improvement of surface quality and the influence of interpolator properties on surface roughness are not well understood. In this paper, the influences of process variables (i.e. tool diameter, step size and thickness of interpolators) on the forming process (e.g. surface roughness, forming force and geometric error) are investigated through a systematic experimental approach of central composite design (CCD) in two-point incremental sheet forming (TPIF). It is obtained that the increase in thickness of interpolators decreases the surface roughness in direction vertical to the tool path while increases the surface roughness in direction horizontal to the tool path. Nevertheless, the combined influence between thickness of interpolators and process parameters (tool diameter and step size) is limited. Meanwhile, the placement of interpolator has little influence on the effective forming force of blank. In addition, the geometric error enlarges with the increase of step size and thickness of interpolator while decreases firstly and then increase with an increase in tool diameter. Finally, the influencing mechanism of the interpolator method on surface quality can be attributed to the decrease of the contact pressure due to the increase of contact area with the unchanged contact force. Meanwhile, the interpolator method eliminates the sliding friction on the surface of blank due to the stable relative position between the blank and the interpolator.