Laser forming process development Available to Purchase

This paper is a summary of the activities performed for the process development of laser thermal forming sheet metal parts in support of rapid prototyping. A 400 watt pulsed Nd:YAG laser and 50 watt desktop CO₂ laser were used during initial process development. Several tool-assisted laser forming approaches were conceived during the development of the process, and simple fixtures for process development/understanding were used throughout all testing. Much of the actual forming was performed with the base material in an unfixtured state. CRES (304) was used for baseline development, but the effort was directed toward forming titanium (e.g., 6AI-4V, 15V-3Cr-3Sn-3AI). Several DOE (i.e., Design of Experiment) techniques were employed during development and a Neural Net Computer Model was conceived for process control. This program was a joint effort in cooperation with the American Welding Society under contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). A synopsis of the laser forming process development, future opportunities, and applications are presented.