Comparison between SPIF with Robot and CNC Machine

This paper deals with Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) a sheet metal forming process that knew a wide development in the last years. A lot of experimental and simulative researches have been conducted in this field with different aims: to study the sheet formability and part feasibility; to define models able to forecast the final sheet thickness; to understand how the sheet deforms and how formability limits can be defined. Another very important issue is related with the tool path optimization. In fact, the process is characterized by high springback which causes dimensional defects. When IF is performed by a robot, the capabilities of the technology is improved in terms of obtainable shapes (it is possible to use the 6 degrees of freedom of the robot), but the shape errors seem to be higher due to the lower robot stiffness in comparison with CNC machine. In this work the comparison between two different ISF configurations, tool mounted on a CNC machine or tool mounted on a robot, is reported. A suitable geometry was investigated working different sheet material types and sheet thicknesses. The results in terms of geometrical accuracy and sheet deformation have been analyzed in order to define advantages and disadvantages of these two techniques. An analysis on the process forces has been carried out too.