Advances on Incremental forming of composite materials

Abstract

Single Point Incremental Forming (SPIF) is an emerging materials processing technology. Owing to a number of merits, like reduced tooling, cycle time and cost and ability to produce sculptured profiles, in comparison to the traditional methods, the recent past has witnessed a growing interest in the application of SPIF to composite materials. This article authoritatively reviews the advancements in this area made since 2008. The review covers several aspects of the process including deformation characteristics, forming limits, failure modes forming forces, strain recovery, surface quality and analytical models. The current state of the technology and challenges are revealed, and many valuable findings are identified thereby setting guidelines for the process users.