Journal of Materials Processing Technology 140 (2003) 447453

Fundamental studies on the incremental

sheet metal forming technique
Jong-Jin Park , Yung-Ho Kim
Department of Mechanical and System Design Engineering, Hong-Ik University,
72-1 Sangsu-Dong, Mapo-Ku, Seoul 121-791, South Korea

Abstract
The idea of incremental forming technique has been investigated for production of sheet metal components. With this technique, the
forming limit curve (FLC) appears in a different pattern, revealing an enhanced formability, compared to conventional forming techniques.
In the present study, the formability of an aluminum sheet under various forming conditions was assessed and difficult-to-form shapes
were produced with the technique. By utilizing knowledge and experience obtained during the present study, it became possible to produce
some free surfaces.
2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Incremental forming; Formability; Forming limit curve; Sheet metal; Aluminum

1. Introduction

2. Characteristics of incremental forming

A sheet metal component is usually produced with dies

and punches, manufactured in accordance with the shape and
dimensions of the component. This conventional method is
adequate for mass production because the cost of dies and
punches can be shared with a large number of products.
Recently, however, new production methods for a small size
lot are being developed, since the customers demand was
so diversified that the lot size has become small. Among
various methods, using simple tool, small hammer or laser,
the incremental forming method with simple tool has gained
a great attention.
In addition to many valuable results [15], Shim and Park
[6] and Kim and Park [7] performed a series of experiments
and suggested the straight groove test as a method to assess
the formability in the incremental forming. They also investigated the effect of forming parameters, such as tool shape,
tool size and feed rate, on the formability.
In the present study, further investigations on the method
were performed such as development of the positive forming
method, application of jigs for complex shapes and comparative studies with stretching and deep drawing methods by
finite element analysis.

In the incremental forming of sheet metal, a simple-shaped

tool imposes deformation locally on the sheet in a consecutive manner. An example of the incremental forming, called
the negative forming, is shown in Fig. 1. In this example,
the ball tool moves on the sheet according to a programmed
tool path on a CNC milling machine. The sheet is located
with the periphery fixed by bolts on a die, which is hollow
and square in cross section.
When a triangular cone is to be formed, for an example,
the tool movement required is as follows: (1) the tool pushes
the sheet by a vertical feed and moves along a triangle, (2)
after the tool moves a little bit inside the triangle followed
by a vertical feed, it moves along a smaller triangle, and
(3) by repeating this process, a triangular cone is gradually
formed from the bottom to the top.
Several characteristics of deformation are observed in
this method. First, the deformation mode transfers from
plane-strain stretching to biaxial stretching as the curvature
of radius of tool movement increases. Second, as shown in
Fig. 2, the forming limit curve (FLC) appears to be a straight
line with a negative slope in the positive region of the minor
strain and thus the formability can be expressed as the value
of max + min [4] (Fig. 2). It is noted that the formability
is greatly enhanced in the case of plane-strain stretching.
Third, the formability increases as the size of the tool or the
magnitude of the vertical feed decreases.

Corresponding author. Tel.: +82-2-332-5693; fax: +82-2-322-7003.

E-mail address: jjpark@hongik.ac.kr (J.-J. Park).

0924-0136/$ see front matter 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0924-0136(03)00768-4

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J.-J. Park, Y.-H. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 140 (2003) 447453

Fig. 1. Incremental forming of an aluminum sheet on CNC milling

machine.

Fig. 2. Comparison of FLCs in both incremental and conventional forming

methods.

Fig. 3. Forming of rectangular cones: (a) by negative forming, (b) by positive forming, (c) jig for positive forming, and (d) strain distributions of both
methods.

J.-J. Park, Y.-H. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 140 (2003) 447453

3. Forming of complex shapes

The materials used in the present study was an aluminum sheet of 0.3 mm in thickness, annealed at 350 C
for 2 h. From material property tests, the elastic modulus
of 70 GPa, the planar anisotropies of R0 = 0.51, R45 =
0.75, and R90 = 0.48 were found with the average flow
stress = 1400.25 MPa [6]. The speed of the tool movement was 25 mm/s, and the horizontal and vertical feeds
were 1 and 0.2 mm, respectively. Bearing oil was used
as the lubricant at the interface between the tool and the
sheet.
The shape in Fig. 3(a) was produced by the negative
forming method, which is presented in Fig. 1. A drawback of this method is that cracks occur easily at corners
and edges. A shape with sharp edges such as the one in
Fig. 3(b) can be formed with a help of the jig in Fig. 3(c)
[8,9]. The jig consists of two blank holders, four guide
posts, a support column, and a base plate. In the process
of forming, the blank holders with a sheet inserted in between are bolted and located by the guide posts. At this

449

point, the sheet is supported by the support column. As the

tool moves on the sheet, a desired shape is formed from
the top to the bottom. This method is called the positive
forming.
Strain distributions measured from the shapes in Fig. 3(a)
and (b) are compared in Fig. 3(d). It is shown that those
by the negative forming are distributed not only at the
plane-strain stretching mode but also at the biaxial stretching mode, while those by the positive forming are only
at the plane-strain stretching mode. Thus, it is concluded
that the positive forming is a better method because it
utilizes the formability characteristics in the incremental
forming.
3.1. Octagonal cones
With the jig in Fig. 3(c), three octagonal cones were
formed, as shown in Fig. 4(a)(c). They are different by the
curvature of the surface: flat, convex, and concave. Strain
distributions were measured on both sides of side 1 and
side 2 and are presented in Fig. 4(d). They are all around

Fig. 4. Forming of octagonal cones: (a) with flat surface, (b) with convex surface, (c) with concave surface, and (d) strain distributions with FLCs.

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Fig. 5. Forming of a bucket shape: (a) formed shape, (b) support tool, and (c) strain distributions with FLCs.

the plane-strain stretching mode below the FLCs. Stretching

and deep drawing processes of the shape were simulated by
the commercial FEM package, PAM-STAMP. The periphery of the sheet was fixed in the stretching process, but it
was allowed to move as far as no wrinkles occurred in the
deep drawing process. The strain distributions for these processes which were obtained from the simulations are compared also in Fig. 4(d). It is revealed that they are almost
around the biaxial stretching mode with some points above
the FLC. It is revealed that there is a possibility of crack
occurrence.

Fig. 5(b). Strain distributions at three locations on the

bucket were measured and are presented in Fig. 5(c).
They are all around the plane-strain stretching mode below the FLCs. Stretching and deep drawing processes of
the shape were simulated by PAM-STAMP. The strain
distributions obtained from the simulations are compared
in Fig. 5(c). It is noted that they are almost around
the biaxial stretching mode, with a possibility of crack
occurrence.

3.2. Bucket shape

A stepped shape shown in Fig. 6(a) was formed with

the jig in which the support column was replaced with the
one in Fig. 6(b). In the process of forming, the first column supported the sheet when the upper part of the shape
was formed, while the second column supported it when

In order to form the bucket shown in Fig. 5(a), which

has a definite shape in the bottom, the support tool
of the jig in Fig. 3(c) was replaced with the one in

3.3. Stepped shape

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451

Fig. 6. Forming of a stepped shape: (a) formed shape, (b) support tool, (c) strain distributions with FLCs, (d) FEM simulation of stretching, and (e)
FEM simulation of deep drawing.

the lower part of the shape was formed. Strain distributions

were measured, as presented in Fig. 6(c). It is shown that
they are around the plane-strain stretching mode below the
FLCs.
Stretching and deep drawing processes of the shape
were simulated by PAM-STAMP, as shown in Fig. 6(d)
and (e). The maximum of the major strain reached 1.82
in the former, while that in the latter reached 1.66. Strain
distributions obtained from the simulations are compared
also in Fig. 6(c). It is shown that they are almost around
the biaxial stretching mode with a possibility of crack
occurrence.
3.4. Forming with a pattern
As presented in the examples above, it was verified that
the incremental forming method was far better than conventional forming methods, in terms of forming capabilities.
However, it was found that the support column should be

carefully prepared as the shape became complicated. Otherwise, the formed shape would not match well with a desired
shape.
A disk shape shown in Fig. 7(a) was formed with the
jig in which the support column was replaced with the pattern in Fig. 7(b). In the process of forming, a sheet was
located on the pattern and the tool moved along circular
paths with appropriate vertical movements. Stretching process of the shape was simulated by PAM-STAMP, as shown
in Fig. 7(c). It was found that the maximum of the major strain reached 0.22. Strain distributions were measured
as well as obtained from the simulation, as presented in
Fig. 7(d). The strains from the incremental forming are all
around the plane-strain stretching mode while those from the
stretching process are distributed from the plane-stretching
mode to the biaxial stretching mode. They are all below the
FLCs. However, it is expected that cracks would take place in
the stretching process as the shape of the disk becomes more
complicated.

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J.-J. Park, Y.-H. Kim / Journal of Materials Processing Technology 140 (2003) 447453

Fig. 7. Forming of a complex disk: (a) formed shape, (b) support tool (or pattern), (c) FEM simulation of stretching, and (d) strain distributions with FLCs.

4. Conclusion
Fundamental investigations of the incremental sheet metal
forming technique were performed in the present study.
Also, conventional techniques such as stretching and deep
drawing processes were simulated by a commercial FEM
package for the purpose of comparison in the aspect of forming capabilities. The result of the present study can be summarized as follows:
(1) The incremental forming technique, especially with
the positive forming method, is better than conventional ones. The forming capability increases as the
plane-strain mode of deformation is more introduced.
(2) With the negative forming method, it is difficult to form
sharp corners or edges because cracks easily occur due
to the biaxial mode of deformation.
(3) With the positive forming method, it is possible to form
complicated shapes with sharp corners or edges because
the plane-strain mode of deformation becomes quite
dominant.
(4) In the positive forming method, the support column of
the jig should be properly designed, depending upon
complexity of the shape to be formed.

(5) It is necessary to develop a forming apparatus in order

to apply the incremental forming technique to steels or
thick plates.

Acknowledgements
The present study was supported by 2003 Hong-Ik University Research Fund.
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