Technology processor for enhancing CAD/CAM-systems for robot-based incremental sheet metal forming

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Bernd Kuhlenkötter, since 9/2016
• Subject Area: Primary Shaping and Reshaping Technology, Additive Manufacturing ; Production Systems, Operations Management, Quality Management and Factory Planning
• Term: from 2014 to 2017
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 258495312

Roboforming is a kinematically controlled robot-based incremental sheet metal forming process where two cooperating industrial robots lead a forming and a supporting tool to form sheet metals. It is characterized by the use of simple, universal tools and the abandonment of geometry-specific dies. The forming of sheet metal components can be realized by means of two strategies: using a forming tool combined with either a peripherally acting supporting tool or a locally acting supporting tool. For this purpose, only two CAD-model-based tool paths are needed. Thus, Roboforming is particularly suitable for the fast and low-cost manufacturing of small batch sizes and prototypes. The currently remaining geometrical deviations mainly result from the non-optimal forming force absorption due to deficits in the positioning of the supporting tool. In addition, there is a conflict between the surface quality of the formed sheet metals and the process time. The aim of this research project is to further develop existing forming strategies and to individually consider areas of the CAD-model during the path planning in order to successfully increase the geometric accuracy and to solve the conflict described. A variable adjustment of the infeed and the speed of the robots to the characteristics of the different areas will already reduce the process time and, at the same time, improve the surface quality. An increase in the geometric accuracy will be reached by exploiting the flexibility and potential of the tools that can be freely placed to each other. Changing the tasks of 'supporting' and 'forming' in the forming area will lead to a better forming result of convex-concave structures. A further development of the peripheral strategy by an individual positioning of the supporting tool on the sheet will also improve the forming force absorption and reduce the subsequent deformation of already formed areas. The above-listed necessary technology-specific parameters of a Roboforming process need to be considered and implemented in the path planning process. However, the available CAD/CAM solutions are not able to satisfactorily meet these requirements. For this reason, a Roboforming-specific technology processor is to be developed as an extension of available CAD/CAM solutions as part of the research project. The technology processor is to have suitable algorithms to realize the optimizations of the forming strategies and possibilities to assign an individual infeed and speed to different areas of the component. It is now possible to gain a previously unattainable increase in the complexity and quality of formed components and a reduction of the process time by the described optimizations and the integrated CAD/CAM approach in the form of an extending technology processor.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Ehemaliger Antragsteller: Professor Dr.-Ing. Horst Meier, until 9/2016