Formability Analysis of AA1200 H14 Aluminum Alloy Using Single Point Incremental Forming Process

Abstract

Single point incremental forming (SPIF) process has the capability to form small/medium-sized part generally used for rapid prototyping applications in automotive and non-automotive industry. Although considerable research has been conducted over the past decades on the formability of various aluminum alloy using SPIF process. This paper presents an investigation on the behavior of AA1200 H14 aluminum alloy by means of SPIF process. The formability of AA1200 H14 in terms of maximum formable wall angle has been evaluated using varying wall angle conical frustum (VWACF) profile. Taguchi method based design of experiment, analysis of variance (ANOVA), signal-to-noise ratio (S/N Ratio) have been employed to identify the significant parameters affecting formability. Utilizing the experimentally acquired results, the S/N ratio (dB) graphs have been drawn and identified the optimal parametric combination for maximizing the wall angle. Further, the formability of the parts has also been evaluated using forming limit curve. The changes in microstructure due to incremental deformation have been studied through scanning electron microscopic analysis.