Modeling and experimental validation for truncated cone parts forming based on water jet incremental sheet metal forming

Dieless sheet metal forming technology has many advantages for prototypes and small batch productions, but it is limited by its accuracy. This paper introduces a water jet incremental sheet metal forming (WJISMF) technology for dieless sheet metal forming. It gave a comprehensive study on truncated cone parts forming based on WJISMF, including its forming theoretical model and experimental validation. Firstly, a theoretical model for truncated cone forming based on WJISMF was developed based on plane strain assumption and work-energy theorem. The theoretical model mainly revealed the relationships between the key process parameters (especially water jet pressure) and truncated cone parts forming angle, which was very useful to predict the forming angle in certain water jet pressure or to determine the water jet pressure for different cone angle parts. Then, to validate the theoretical model, truncated cone workpiece was manufactured on a built WJISMF machine. Experimental results show that theoretical model matched the experiment well.