Springback correction of stamped, curved U-channel part by laser bending

The present study concerns laser-assisted springback correction for a stamped part comprising a curved U-channel. To determine laser irradiation conditions, bending deformation induced by the laser scanning was predicted using a coupled thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) analysis. To validate and tune the results of analysis, a laser bending experiment was performed. The required magnitude of bending angle for springback correction was determined through a stamping analysis followed by a springback analysis. From the series of thermo-mechanical FE analyses, a simple relationship between bending angle and laser scanning length was constructed. A simple method of springback correction which uses the constructed relationship is proposed in this work.