Incremental forming is a new technique for deforming sheet metals by the application
of step-by-step incremental feed to a deforming tool (DT). For the production
of parts by conventional sheet forming techniques, dedicated tools are required. The
dedicated tools are complex 3D design and thus are expensive. The design of
tooling (die and punch) for complicated shapes is very difficult and costly.
In incremental forming technique, only a DT is required for deforming the sheet
metals. There are four basic elements of an ISF process as shown in Fig. 1—a sheet
metal, a blank holder, a single-point forming tool or DT, and CNC machine.
The shape of DT may be hemispherical. The design of DT is quite simple and
economical. A CNC controller having capability for controlling individual 3 axes
can be used to control the movements of the DT. The tool path needs to be
optimized and a free run is taken before performing the actual manufacturing on the
sheet metal in order to ensure the proper functioning of the machine