Incremental Tube Forming Process with a Novel Free Rotating Bearing Tool Tip: Experiment and FE Modeling with Anisotropic Plasticity Model

The conventional stamping tube forming process generally includes expanding the tube, forming the end into a specific shape by pressing, and trimming the part. However, the manufacture of the tube parts based on these conventional forming processes causes significant material loss during the trimming process after shaping. On the other hand, incremental tube forming (ITF) can reduce material loss in the entire forming process; therefore, it can be considered as an effective alternative to the conventional tube forming process and a promising method for developing tube components without using a press. The hemispherical shaped tool tip, widely used in the existing incremental sheet forming, has, however, limitations in forming complex-profiled tube parts. In this study, a novel tool tip is proposed to overcome the problem, and an S-shaped tube is successfully produced through the new ITF process. In addition, numerical analyses are conducted using the commercial FE package of Abaqus/Explicit to investigate the deformation mode during ITF. Finally, the feasibility of the novel ITF process for tube forming is confirmed by comparing the geometric accuracy and thickness variation between the target shape and the formed sample.