Huaqing Ren

A Mixed Double-Sided Incremental Forming Toolpath Strategy for Improved Geometric Accuracy

Double-sided incremental forming (DSIF) is a relatively new dieless forming process which uses two hemispherical ended tools, one on each side of the sheet, moving along a predefined trajectory to locally deform a peripherally clamped sheet of metal. DSIF provides greater process flexibility, higher formability, and eliminates the tooling cost when compared to conventional sheet forming processes. While DSIF provides much improved geometric accuracy compared to other incremental forming processes, current toolpath planning strategies suffer from long forming times. A novel mixed double-sided incremental forming (MDSIF) toolpath strategy is proposed in the present study. It simultaneously reduces the total forming time by half while preserving the best currently achievable geometric accuracy. The effect of the forming parameters, i.e., of the incremental depth and of tool positioning on the geometric accuracy of the parts formed with MDSIF was investigated and compared to those formed by traditional DSIF strategies.

An efficient and general finite element model for double-sided incremental forming

Double-sided incremental forming (DSIF) is a subcategory of general incremental sheet forming (ISF), and uses tools above and below a sheet of metal to squeeze and bend the material into freeform geometries. Due to the relatively slow nature of the DSIF process and the necessity to capture through-thickness mechanics, typical finite element simulations require weeks or even months to finish. In this study, an explicit finite element simulation framework was developed in LS-DYNA using fully integrated shell elements in an effort to lower the typical simulation time while still capturing the mechanics of DSIF. The tool speed, mesh size, element type, and amount of mass scaling were each varied in order to achieve a fast simulation with minimal sacrifice regarding accuracy. Using 8 CPUs, the finalized DSIF model simulated a funnel toolpath in just one day. Experimental strains, forces, and overall geometry were used to verify the simulation. While the simulation forces tended to be high, the trends were still well captured by the simulation model. The thickness and in-plane strains were found to be in good agreement with the experiments.

Effects of Tool Positions in Accumulated Double-Sided Incremental Forming on Part Geometry

In accumulated double-sided incremental forming (ADSIF), two hemispherical tools impart the local deformation to the sheet via their programed in-plane spiral motion and the depth of the part is achieved via rigid body motion of the already formed part. Unlike single point incremental forming (SPIF) and double-sided incremental forming (DSIF), ADSIF does not impose forces on the already-formed part and, therefore, has the potential of achieving higher geometric accuracy. A systematic method is proposed in this work to study the influences of the relative tool positions on the local formed shape and the final geometry, which is essentially the accumulation of all previously formed local deformations. Meanwhile, the concepts of the stable angle and the peak angle are introduced to better describe the cross-sectional geometry of a formed part with a constant wall angle at that particular cross section. It is recommended that, while multiple combinations of the relative positions of two forming tools may achieve the same stable angle that the positioning parameters should be chosen such that the resultant forming force or the wall angle variation between the stable and peak angles is minimized.

Tissue Cutting With Microserrated Biopsy Punches

This paper investigates the application of bioinspired serrated cutting edges in tissue cutting by biopsy punches (BPs) to reduce the insertion force. BPs are frequently used as a diagnostic tool in many minimally invasive procedures, for both tissue extraction and the delivery of medical fluids. The proposed work is inspired by the mosquito’s maxilla that features microserrations on its cutting edges with the purpose of painlessly puncturing the human skin. The objective of this paper is to study the application of maxillalike microserrations on commercial BPs. The fundamental goal is the minimization of the puncture force at the BP tip during insertion procedures. Microserrations were created on the cutting edge by using a picosecond laser while cutting tests were implemented on a customized testbed on phantom tissue. A reduction of 20–30% in the insertion forces has been achieved with microserrated punches with different texture depths encouraging, thereby, further studies and applications in biomedical devices. Three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) finite element simulations were also developed to investigate the impact of microserrated cutting edges on the stresses in the contact area during soft tissue cutting. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4037726]

An investigation into the mechanics of double-sided incremental forming using finite element methods

Double-Sided Incremental Forming (DSIF) is a developing sheet metal manufacturing process that has gained a lot of attention in recent years due to its inherent flexibility, low-overhead cost, and die-less nature. However, it can be challenging to define the tool gap so as to achieve a desired pressure through the sheet thickness since one must first predict sheet thinning. In this investigation, a novel part design is proposed which varies in-plane curvature as a function of depth. A finite element model for DSIF is developed and the strain histories in various regions are extracted. It was concluded that if the supporting tool loses contact with the sheet, localized necking can occur prior to part failure. Additionally, part geometry can have significant effects on the tool contact area which, consequently, affects the evolution of strain.

An integrated computational materials engineering method for woven carbon fiber composites preforming process

An integrated computational materials engineering method is proposed in this paper for analyzing the design and preforming process of woven carbon fiber composites. The goal is to reduce the cost and time needed for the mass production of structural composites. It integrates the simulation methods from the micro-scale to the macro-scale to capture the behavior of the composite material in the preforming process. In this way, the time consuming and high cost physical experiments and prototypes in the development of the manufacturing process can be circumvented. This method contains three parts: the micro-scale representative volume element (RVE) simulation to characterize the material; the metamodeling algorithm to generate the constitutive equations; and the macro-scale preforming simulation to predict the behavior of the composite material during forming. The results show the potential of this approach as a guidance to the design of composite materials and its manufacturing process.

A mixed toolpath strategy for improved geometric accuracy and higher throughput in double-sided incremental forming

Incremental sheet forming has attracted considerable attention in the recent past due to advantages that include high process flexibility and higher formability as compared to conventional forming processes. However, attaining required geometric accuracy of the formed part is one of the major issues plaguing this process. The Double-Sided Incremental Forming process has emerged as a potential process variant which can preserve the process flexibility while maintaining required geometric accuracy. This paper investigates a mixed toolpath for Double-Sided Incremental Forming which is able to simultaneously achieve good geometric accuracy and higher throughput than is currently possible. The geometries of parts formed using the mixed toolpath strategy are compared to the desired geometry. Furthermore, an examination of the forming forces is used to uncover the reasons for experimentally observed trends. Future work in this area is also discussed.Copyright

Study on design and cutting parameters of rotating needles for core biopsy

Core needle biopsies are widely adopted medical procedures that consist in the removal of biological tissue to better identify a lesion or an abnormality observed through a physical exam or a radiology scan. These procedures can provide significantly more information than most medical tests and they are usually performed on bone lesions, breast masses, lymph nodes and the prostate. The quality of the samples mainly depends on the forces exerted by the needle during the cutting process. The reduction of these forces is critical to extract high-quality tissue samples. The most critical factors that affect the cutting forces are the geometry of the needle tip and its motion while it is penetrating the tissue. However, optimal needle tip configurations and cutting parameters are not well established for rotating insertions. In this paper, the geometry and cutting forces of hollow needles are investigated. The fundamental goal of this study is to provide a series of guidelines for clinicians and surgeons to properly select the optimal tip geometries and speeds. Analytical models related to the cutting angles of several needle tip designs are presented and compared. Several needle tip geometries were manufactured from a 14-gauge cannula, commonly adopted during breast biopsies. The needles were then tested at different speeds and on different phantom tissues. According to these experimental measurements recommendations were formulated for rotating needle insertions. The findings of this study can be applied and extended to several biopsy procedures in which a cannula is used to extract tissue samples.