Emile Abed

Iterative 3D laser forming of continuous surfaces

There has been a considerable amount of work carried out on two-dimensional laser forming, using multi-pass straight line scan strategies to produce a reasonably controlled bend angle in a number of materials, including aerospace alloys. However in order to advance the process further for realistic forming applications and for straightening and aligning operations in a manufacturing industry it is necessary to consider larger scale controlled 3D laser forming. The work presented in this paper uses a predictive and adaptive approach to control the 3D laser forming of 1.5mm Mild Steel sheet into a desired continuous surface. The surface considered in the study was the pillow (or dome) shape. Key to the control of the process was the development of a predictive model to give scan strategies based on a required geometry. When the geometry is not formed within one pass, an incremental adaptive approach is used for subsequent passes, utilising the error between the current and desired geometry to give a new scan strategy, thus any unwanted distortion due to material variability can be accounted for. The forming rate and distribution of the magnitude of forming across the surface were controlled by the process speedThere has been a considerable amount of work carried out on two-dimensional laser forming, using multi-pass straight line scan strategies to produce a reasonably controlled bend angle in a number of materials, including aerospace alloys. However in order to advance the process further for realistic forming applications and for straightening and aligning operations in a manufacturing industry it is necessary to consider larger scale controlled 3D laser forming. The work presented in this paper uses a predictive and adaptive approach to control the 3D laser forming of 1.5mm Mild Steel sheet into a desired continuous surface. The surface considered in the study was the pillow (or dome) shape. Key to the control of the process was the development of a predictive model to give scan strategies based on a required geometry. When the geometry is not formed within one pass, an incremental adaptive approach is used for subsequent passes, utilising the error between the current and desired geometry to give a new sca...

Developments towards controlled three-dimensional laser forming of continuous surfaces

There has been a considerable amount of work carried out on two-dimensional laser forming, using multipass straight line scan strategies to produce a reasonably controlled bend angle in a number of materials, including aerospace alloys. However, in order to advance the process further for realistic forming applications and for straightening and aligning operations in a manufacturing industry it is necessary to consider larger scale controlled three-dimensional (3D) laser forming. The work presented in this article uses a predictive and adaptive approach to control the 3D laser forming of a 1.5 mm mild steel sheet into a desired continuous surface. The surface considered in the study was the pillow (or dome) shape. Key to the control of the process was the development of a predictive model to give scan strategies based on a required geometry. The forming rate and distribution of the magnitude of forming across the surface were controlled by the process speed. When the geometry is not formed within one pass...

CORRECTION OF DISTORTION AND DESIGN SHAPE IN ALUMINIUM STRUCTURES USING LASER FORMING

The correction of distortion and design shape in manufactured components is increasingly in demand in industry, in particular for aluminium components, where the applications for aluminium and its alloys continue to expand. A process capable of achieving these actions in an automated, controlled and precise manner would be of significant benefit to industry. Due to these factors a study has been conducted on the use of laser forming (LF) as a method of automated distortion correction.Investigations were carried out into the use of purely geometrical data from a component as a basis for scan strategy development. The iterative error based method developed as part of this was shown to be a significant step towards controlled 3D LF and, as this method relies on the error between a component and a design shape, it was shown to be ideal for the correction of unwanted distortion.The correction of distortion and design shape in manufactured components is increasingly in demand in industry, in particular for aluminium components, where the applications for aluminium and its alloys continue to expand. A process capable of achieving these actions in an automated, controlled and precise manner would be of significant benefit to industry. Due to these factors a study has been conducted on the use of laser forming (LF) as a method of automated distortion correction.Investigations were carried out into the use of purely geometrical data from a component as a basis for scan strategy development. The iterative error based method developed as part of this was shown to be a significant step towards controlled 3D LF and, as this method relies on the error between a component and a design shape, it was shown to be ideal for the correction of unwanted distortion.

Control method for 3D laser forming based on geometrical data

2-Dimensional laser forming can currently control bend angle, with reasonably accurate results, in various materials including aerospace alloys. However, this is a different situation for 3-Dimensional laser forming. To advance this process further for realistic forming applications and for straightening and aligning operations in a manufacturing industry it is necessary to consider larger scale controlled 3D laser forming. The work presented in this paper uses a predictive and adaptive approach to control the laser forming of mild steel and aluminium sheet into a desired surface. Key to the control of the process was the development of a predictive model, detailed in the paper, to give scan strategies based on a required geometry and the surface error. The forming rate and distribution of the magnitude of forming across the surface were controlled in the closed loop by the process speed. When the geometry is not formed within one pass, an incremental adaptive approach is used for subsequent passes, utilising the error between the current and desired geometry to give a new scan strategy, thus any unwanted distortion due to material variability can be accounted for and distortion control and removal is possible.2-Dimensional laser forming can currently control bend angle, with reasonably accurate results, in various materials including aerospace alloys. However, this is a different situation for 3-Dimensional laser forming. To advance this process further for realistic forming applications and for straightening and aligning operations in a manufacturing industry it is necessary to consider larger scale controlled 3D laser forming. The work presented in this paper uses a predictive and adaptive approach to control the laser forming of mild steel and aluminium sheet into a desired surface. Key to the control of the process was the development of a predictive model, detailed in the paper, to give scan strategies based on a required geometry and the surface error. The forming rate and distribution of the magnitude of forming across the surface were controlled in the closed loop by the process speed. When the geometry is not formed within one pass, an incremental adaptive approach is used for subsequent passes, utili...