Incremental CNC sheet forming (ISF) is a relatively new sheet metal forming process for small batch production and prototyping. In ISF, a blank is shaped by the CNC movements of a simple tool in combination with a simplified die. The standard forming strategies in ISF entail two major drawbacks: (i) the inherent forming kinematics set limits on the maximum wall angle that can be formed with ISF. (ii) since elastic parts of the imposed deformation can currently not be accounted for in CNC code generation, the standard strategies can lead to undesired deviations between the target and the sample geometry.
Several enhancements have recently been put forward to overcome the above limitations, among them a multistage forming strategy to manufacture steep flanges, and a correction algorithm to improve the geometric accuracy. Both strategies have been successful in improving the forming of simple parts. However, the high experimental effort to empirically optimize the tool paths motivates the use of process modeling techniques.