Numerical investigation of straight-line laser forming under the temperature gradient mechanism

Laser forming is a new flexible and dieless forming technique. To achieve the high accuracy forming, the temperature gradient mechanism (TGM) is studied. In the analysis of TGM, the plate bends about x-axis and about y-axis as well. To understand the deformation trend, the numerical simulation of deformation of plate is conducted by choosing different laser powers, laser spot diameters, scanning speeds, lengths, widths and thicknesses. From the results of simulation, it can be seen that the laser spot diameter, the scanning speed, laser power and thickness of plate play dominant roles in the laser forming process. However, the bending angles αx and αy show different trends with the variation of parameters. In addition, in comparison with above four parameters, the effect of length and width of plate on the bending angle may be neglected, but their effects are significant for the bending radius R.