Experimental Study of Sheet Incremental Forming Process with Controlled Movement of Material into the Forming Cavity

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Hormozgan, Bandar Abbas, Iran

Abstract

Incremental forming is one of the methods for single-piece forming of metal sheets. In the conventional configuration of this process, the sheet is held fixed between holders, preventing any movement toward the forming cavity. Since the presence of draw beads in deep drawing dies controls the material flow into the die, thereby reducing defects such as wrinkling and thinning, this study incorporates this feature into the design of the holders in sheet incremental forming. Experimental tests were conducted both with and without the bead, and the effect of its presence on sheet thickness variation and forming accuracy was evaluated. In this context, with a different definition of the bead performance, its positive role in the incremental forming process is also noticeable, with the distinction that the blank holder’s role is to control the contact surface between the sheet and the holders and to regulate friction. Experimental observations confirm that in the case of linear contact between the holders and the workpiece through a double bead, controlled movement of the sheet into the cavity is possible, which in turn reduces thinning by approximately 30% while maintaining forming accuracy.

Keywords

References

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Iranian Journal of Materials Forming
Volume 13, Issue 3
July 2026
Pages 52-63

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