Modular fastening system and tool–holder working unit for incremental forming

Incremental forming can be usually unfolded either on CNC milling machine–tools or serial industrial robots. The approach proposed in this paper tackles the problem of designing a modular fastening system, which can be adapted for both above mentioned technological equipment. The fastening system of the sheet–metal workpiece is composed of a fixing plate and a retaining plate. The fixing and retaining plates will be made up of different individual elements, which can be easily repositioned to obtain different sizes of the part. Moreover, the fastening system has to be able to be positioned either horizontally (to be fitted on CNC milling machines) or vertically (to be fitted on industrial robots. The paper also presents the design of a tool–holder working unit which will be fitted on KUKA KR 210 industrial robot. The working unit will be mounted as end–effector of the robot and will bear the punch, driving it on the processing toolpaths.

Dual Electromagnetic Forming Using Single Uniform Pressure Coil

Electromagnetic Forming (EMF) is a high-speed forming process that can be applied for shaping, joining and cutting of workpieces made of electrically conductive material eg. aluminium. This paper proposes a dual electromagnetic forming method. Energy efficiency of the dual electromagnetic forming is compared with the single sided electromagnetic forming using FEM simulations. In uniform pressure rectangular coil, the top layer of the coil assists in the deformation of the workpiece while the bottom layer hinders the workpiece deformation.To make the bottom layer of the coil also to assist in the deformation of the workpiece, a uniform pressure rectangular coil is designed and placed between the two sheet metal workpiece. The efficiency of the two processes are compared by determing the maximum deformation obtained for each case.