Analysis on Bending Angle of Laser Forming

To achieve the precise prediction of the bending angle in the laser forming process,the deformation of the sheet metal is analyzed based on simplified models.The deformation of the heating zone is divided into three cases:(1) only generating elastic deformation in the top and the bottom surfaces;(2) generating elastic and plastic deformations in the top surface and only elastic deformation in the bottom surface;(3) generating elastic and plastic deformations in the top and the bottom surfaces.In connection with the first case,the moving energy density is defined and the minimal moving energy density beyond which plastic distortion occurs is obtained.Analytical models of the bending angle are developed based on the analysis of both the second and the third cases,which consider the dimensions of the plate,material property and laser scanning parameters.The comparison of the calculations using the proposed analytical model with experimental results shows a good correlation.