Towards constant wall thickness in hybrid single point incremental forming

This paper explores the hybridization of single-point incremental forming (SPIF) with machining to produce parts with uniform wall thickness profiles. The proposed manufacturing approach involves machining tailored blanks from thicker sheets or plates, with the initial thickness profile determined through analytical modeling using a software developed by the authors, which utilizes a backward implementation of the point projection method, previously used to predict the final wall thickness of conventional SPIF parts. The new hybrid SPIF approach is validated through experimental test cases, and a proof-of-concept aeronautic component with uniform wall thickness is fabricated to demonstrate its effectiveness.