Optimisation of laser assisted forming conditions for improved formability of aerospace materials

ISF technology was gradually considered as a manufacturing technology for fabricating sheet metal parts for both commercial and military aircraft. However, many challenges remain with respect to improving the consistency of the process, such as part thinning and springback. This is especially critical for two phase titanium alloy Ti-6AL-4V which has limited formability at room temperature. Therefore, understanding the correlation of laser system parameters and material properties is a key aspect for successful ISF of non-fractured Ti-6AL-4V. The laser heating is modelled to find the relationships between laser power, beam radius, scan speed, and the resultant temperature. The analysis shows that the temperature from laser heating increases with an increase in power, decreases significantly with an increase in beam radius, and decreases slightly with an increase in scan speed.