Original Article

Proc IMechE Part B:

J Engineering Manufacture
2017, Vol. 231(6) 971–982
Investigation of the ultrasonic vibration Ó IMechE 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/0954405415578579

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Mehdi Vahdati1, Ramezanali Mahdavinejad1 and Saeid Amini2

Abstract
The mechanism of incremental sheet metal forming is based on plastic and localized deformation of sheet metal. The
sheet metal is formed using a hemispherical-head tool in accordance with the path programmed into the computer
numerical control milling machine controller. Experimental and numerical analyses have been performed previously on
the application of ultrasonic vibration to various metal forming processes. However, thus far, the effects of ultrasonic
vibration on incremental sheet metal forming have not been investigated. This article presents the process of design,
analysis, manufacture and testing of a vibrating forming tool for the development of ultrasonic vibration–assisted incre-
mental sheet metal forming. The results obtained from modal analysis and natural frequency measurement of the vibrat-
ing tool confirmed the emergence of a longitudinal vibration mode and resonance phenomenon in the forming tool.
Then, the effect of ultrasonic vibration on incremental sheet metal forming was studied. The obtained experimental
results from the straight groove test on Al 1050-O sheet metals showed that ultrasonic vibration led to decrease in the
following parameters as compared with conventional incremental sheet metal forming: applied force on forming tool
axis, spring-back and surface roughness of formed sample.

Keywords
Incremental forming, ultrasonic vibration, forming force, spring-back, surface roughness

Date received: 11 June 2014; accepted: 24 February 2015

Introduction
In recent years, sheet metal-forming industries have been
competing with each other to produce products in small
volumes, reduce production costs and increase process
flexibility. To these ends, conventional sheet metal form-
ing is not economically viable due to the increase in cost
and time required to manufacture and set up the equip-
ment, especially for products with complex geometry.
Thus, incremental sheet metal forming (ISMF) was
introduced as a method for rapid prototyping and pro-
ducing products in small volumes.1,2 ISMF is based on
localized plastic deformation of a sheet metal using a
hemispherical-head tool that follows the path pro-
grammed into the controller of a computer numerical
control (CNC) milling machine.3 The method involves
two processes: single-point incremental forming (SPIF)
and two-point incremental forming (TPIF).4 In SPIF,
no die is used under the sheet metal for support,5
whereas in TPIF, the sheet metal is supported by a part
of a die or a full die.6,7 Many of the existing studies on
ISMF have focused on the use of a rigid tool. However,
other tools such as laser8,9 and water jet10,11 have been
considered as well.
Studying the forming force behaviour in ISMF is
one of the most important research subjects.12,13 The
increases in the values of input parameters such as ver-
tical step size, tool diameter, wall inclination angle and
sheet thickness along with the application of high-
strength sheet metals and lightweight alloys (such as
AA2024, AZ31B and Ti6Al4V) lead to an increase in
the force acting on the forming tool. In addition,
improvement of ISMF efficiency by decreasing the
spring-back14,15 and surface roughness of the
1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran,
Iran
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kashan, Kashan,
Iran
Corresponding author:
Mehdi Vahdati, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of
Tehran, P.O. Box 14395-515, Tehran 8391845636, Iran.
Email: vahdati@ut.ac.ir
972 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 231(6)

product16,17 is an important challenge in industrializing In this study, the process of design, analysis, manu-
the process. facture and testing of the vibrating forming tool was
Researchers have confirmed the useful effect of conducted for ISMF for the first time. The main objec-
ultrasonic (US) energy on the deformation behaviour tive of this research was to develop the ultrasonic
of metals and alloys.18–35 Thus, it seems that improving vibration–assisted incremental sheet metal forming
ISMF by applying US vibration is essential. No (UVaISMF) process to improve the quantitative and
attempts have been made to study the effect of US qualitative characteristics of ISMF, such as forming
vibration on ISMF. Therefore, in this study, the force, spring-back and surface roughness of sample.
authors have focused on applying US vibration to
ISMF for investigating the resulting deformation
mechanism. Past studies have shown that the applica-
Experimental system
tion of high-frequency US energy during tension and UVaISMF equipment
compression tests of different metals reduces the mate-
The US equipment used in this research consists of two
rial’s yield strength under deformation.18–20
components: US generator and US vibration transmis-
Blaha and Langenecker18 reported the softening phe-
sion system (piezoelectric transducer + tool holder).
nomenon of materials. This phenomenon is recognized
To apply US vibration to the forming tool, a King
mostly as the ‘Blaha effect’, ‘volume effect’ or ‘acousto-
generator with a power output of 1000 W at an opera-
plastic effect’.21–23 It is defined as the reduction of yield-
tional frequency of 20 kHz was used. The US generator
ing stress during plastic deformation accompanied by a
converts low-frequency input voltage (220 VAC, 50–
constant strain rate or an increase in strain rate during
60 Hz) into high-frequency US power (1000 W,
plastic deformation under constant stress. Their find-
20 kHz).
ings show that the changes in mechanical properties
Experiments were performed using a CNC horizon-
under tension accompanied with US excitation are due
tal milling machine. A Kistler piezoelectric dynam-
to the activation of dislocations. This can be ascribed to
ometer was employed for recording the vertical
the fact that the US vibration is preferably absorbed in
component of the applied force (Fz ) with the help of
dislocations, and with their activation, forming forces
Dynoware interface software.
are reduced. In the beginning, dislocation activation
was ascribed to the occurrence of resonance in disloca-
tions. The natural frequency of dislocations is estimated US vibration transmission system
to be about 100 MHz,24 but the transmission of vibra-
The vibration transmission system is combined with
tion energy cannot be explained based on dislocation
the forming tool, so that it can transfer vibration
resonance. Another group of researchers25 found that
energy efficiently to the sheet. In this study, US energy
the activation of dislocations and, consequently, the
was applied longitudinally to the forming tool to be
reduction of forming forces result from the superposi-
vibrated.
tion of oscillating and static stresses.
In addition, the vibration transmission system must
Green26 conducted various deformation tests on dif-
induce rotational movement of the forming tool.
ferent materials to study the effect of US energy.
Therefore, a bespoke system was ordered from the
Consequently, the acoustic softening phenomenon was
manufacturer (Figure 1).
observed. Then, he concluded that the reduction of
To set up and run the system on a CNC milling
yielding strength is proportional to the intensity of the
machine, the required fixture was designed and fabri-
applied US energy.
cated considering the positions of the spindle (driving
Many advantages of US vibration application have
part) and bearing set (Figure 2).
been reported with respect to metal forming processes
such as deep drawing,27 bending,28 pipe drawing,29 wire
drawing,30,31 micro-wire drawing,32,33 press forming34 System components. According to Figure 1, the system is
and tube spinning.35 made of the following components:
Thus, the reduction of variables such as material
yielding strength, friction force, forming force, number 1. Collector connection. In this system, the electrical
of processing steps and improvement in the qualitative connection between the generator and the transdu-
characteristics of formed samples can be considered cer is established by the collector connection. The
part of the useful effects of the application of US vibra- electrical connection between the system and the
tion to various metal forming processes. generator is static and devoid of rotation. In con-
The effects of US vibration on metal forming pro- trast, the electrical connection of the system with
cesses are attributed to two major effects: volume effect the transducer is of a rotational form. Therefore,
and surface effect. The volume effect is related to this electrical connection should be established
changes in material properties during deformation, also properly to avoid failure. To prevent failure result-
known as the softening phenomenon.20 The surface ing from the shortening of brushes or lack of effi-
effect is related to changes in the frictional conditions ciency of the spring part, the authors modified the
during deformation.24 electrical connection of the system. A ‘slip ring’
Vahdati et al.
Figure 1. Ultrasonic vibration transmission system.
Figure 2. Fixture to set up the system on a CNC milling
machine.
containing mercury was used to establish the elec-
trical connection between the generator and trans-
ducer. This part acts as a rotary conductor, and
there is no circuit disconnection in this state
(Figure 3);
2. Bearing set. The system includes two ball bearings
that act as supports, and they are used for position-
ing the system into the fixture (Figure 2);
3. Transducer casing. This part is the transducer
holder and is pressed into the ball bearings;
4. Transducer. The transducer transforms electric
power into mechanical vibration and transmits this
973
Figure 3. Mounting the slip ring on the system.
vibration to the tool holder. The tool holder ampli-
tude is reinforced with a concentrator (forming
tool);
5. Moving pulley. This part receives the rotational
motion of the driving pulley (spindle) through a
belt. In other words, this part imparts rotational
motion to the system;
6. Tool holder. The forming tool is installed on the
tool holder.
In this system, mechanical vibration is transmitted
to the tool holder. The front section of the transducer
(matching part) and the initial section of the tool holder
are connected using two discs. The interface plane
defined between two discs is known as the node posi-
tion. The node position is a point or a plane with zero
amplitude. The system is supported on the nodal plane,
thus transmitting the maximum possible vibration
amplitude to the tool holder. The node position can be
adjusted using the connection bolts. Through suitable
adjustments to the node position, amplified vibration is
generated in the tool holder (anti-node position). The
anti-node position (loop) is a point or a plane with
non-zero amplitude.
Frequency measurement. The transducer’s resonance fre-
quency was 20.5 kHz according to the manufacturer’s
specifications. The equipment necessary for adjusting
and confirming this resonance frequency was provided
as well. This equipment included a piezodriver, func-
tion generator, an oscilloscope and connecting cables
(Figure 4). The piezodriver was a piezoelectric actuator.
It generated drive waveforms used for controlling
piezoelectric transducer. The function generator was
used to generate different types of electrical waveforms
974 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 231(6)

Figure 4. Frequency measurement equipment.

spanning a wide range of frequencies. The oscilloscope
was used to display and analyse the waveforms of elec-
tronic signals. It draws a graph of the instantaneous
signal voltage as a function of time. This set (frequency
measurement equipment) operates as a frequency
response function (FRF). Frequency response is the
quantitative measure of the output frequency of the
transducer in response to the piezodriver.
In the simplest terms, a sine wave is injected into the
piezoelectric transducer at a given frequency. Then, the
transducer responds as a linear structure at the same
frequency with a certain magnitude. The frequency
value was measured to be to 20.48 kHz, which con-
firmed the accuracy of the manufacturer-specified
transducer frequency (20.5 kHz).
Vibrating forming tool
At this stage, it is necessary to design a hemispherical-
head tool capable of reinforcing and transmitting
vibration. Therefore, the forming tool is an energy con-
centrator that performs two functions concurrently:
1. Execution of the ISMF process;
2. Transmission and reinforcement of vibration
amplitude.
forming tool should be equal to that of the tool
holder (D = 31 mm) to ensure effective and waste-
less transmission of vibration energy to the form-
ing tool;
2. Material. With regard to tool geometry and its
application to ISMF, characteristics such as rigid-
ity, resistance against high temperature and
machining abilities influenced material selection.
High fatigue resistance and low acoustic loss (low
absorption of vibration energy) were considered
general necessities for a vibrating tool. Therefore,
grade 316 non-magnetic stainless steel36 was
selected as the tool material (Table 1);
3. Natural frequency. The natural frequency of the
tool will be in the domain of the generator fre-
quency (20 kHz). Therefore, for establishing vibra-
tion (resonance) in the forming tool, its natural
frequency was selected to be in agreement with the
generator frequency;
4. Mode shape. The tool vibration was expected to be
of the longitudinal mode;
5. Length. For proper positioning of the vibrating
node and anti-node, the tool length was selected to
Table 1. Mechanical properties of grade 316 non-magnetic
stainless steel.36

The forming tool was designed and adjusted in the Property Value
longitudinal vibration mode. For ensuring proper per-
Tensile strength 515 MPa
formance of the tool in UVaISMF, it was designed and Yield strength 205 MPa
fabricated based on the principles explained in the fol- Brinell hardness 217
lowing subsections.

Table 2. Physical properties of grade 316 non-magnetic

Conceptual design. At the outset, it is necessary to deter- stainless steel.36
mine the geometrical, dimensional and vibrational con-
straints of the forming tool. The relevant sixfold Property Value
constraints are as follows:
Density (r) 8000 kg/m3
Elastic modulus (E) 193 GPa
1. Base diameter. To set up and assemble the forming Poisson’s ratio 0.28
tool onto the tool holder, the base diameter of the
Vahdati et al. 975

be half the wavelength. Table 2 lists the physical

properties of the material. Thus, the propagation
speed of the longitudinal elastic wave (c) is given
as follows
sffiffiffiffi
E
c= = 4911:72 m=s ð1Þ
r

Given that the generator frequency is 20 kHz, the angu-

lar frequency (v) is expressed as follows
v = 2pf = 125663:71=s ð2Þ Figure 5. Design of the vibrating tool.

The wavelength (l) was calculated according to the fol-

lowing relationship using the above values
c
l= = 245:59 mm ð3Þ
f

The important point to consider here is the tuning

allowance, which will provide for the inclusion of an
additional tool length (of a few millimetres). Thus, after
tuning, it is possible to machine the tool and, conse-
quently, adjust the natural frequency of the tool
according to constraint (3).
6. Geometry. With regard to the head shape of the
ISMF tool and conventional tool diameters (d = 5,
10, 15, 20 mm), a hemispherical tool nose geometry
and a tool diameter of 10 mm were selected.
Diverse geometries for concentrator (forming tool)
have been suggested, such as stepped, conical,
exponential or a combination of them for trans-
mission and reinforcement of vibration amplitude
in the deformation zone.37
For designing the vibrating forming tool, an initial
design close to the mentioned constraints was modelled
using Abaqus, a finite element method (FEM) software
application.38 Then, preliminary modal analysis was
performed in the concerned frequency domain, and
vibration specifications of the forming tool such as nat-
ural frequency and mode shape were extracted (section
‘Modal analysis’).
To achieve the ideal resonance frequency of the tool,
minor changes to the geometrical and dimensional
aspects of the initial design are inevitable. Therefore,
through trial and error considering the design con-
straints, theoretical calculations and software analysis,
a forming tool with a hemispherical head having a dia-
meter of 10 mm and a length of 124 mm, as well as a
combination of three geometries, namely, stepped, con-
ical and exponential, was finalized (Figure 5).
Modal analysis. Natural frequencies and mode shapes
are important parameters in the design of a vibrating
forming tool for dynamic loading conditions. Modal
analysis was used to determine the natural frequencies
Figure 6. Three-dimensional model of the meshed tool.
of tool vibration and mode shapes corresponding to it.
Abaqus finite element software, release 6.12,38 was used
to analyse the tool. After tool modelling, the physical
and mechanical properties of the material were defined
isotropically.
The block Lanczos method was employed in this
study to compute the natural frequencies because this
method is recommended by Abaqus instructions.39
No structural constraint was used for modal analysis.
For this study, modelling with C3D8R elements was
employed for the forming tool. C3D8R has a hexahe-
dral geometry with reduced integration and hourglass
control capability. The element has eight nodes with
up to six degrees of freedom at each node. The
approximate element size was selected to be 1.5 mm.
A total of 9728 elements were generated using this
model. Figure 6 shows a three-dimensional model of
the meshed tool.
Mode shapes are shown in Figure 7. The resonance
and anti-resonance frequencies were found to be 20.846
and 21.645 kHz, respectively. It is clear that the bending
mode of the forming tool (Figure 7(b)) is undesirable
and can nullify the advantages of UVaISMF. In con-
trast, the longitudinal mode (Figure 7(a)) due to tool
vibration with a resonance frequency of 20.846 kHz is
the most suitable option for tool vibration.
Vibrational test. The forming tool was fabricated based
on the determined specifications (Figure 8). To achieve
the maximum vibration amplitude at the tool nose, the
connection between the vibration transmission system
and the base diameter of the tool was established well
976
Figure 7. Mode shapes of the tool vibration: (a) longitudinal mode and (b) bending mode.
Figure 8. Manufacture of the forming tool.
Figure 9. Mounting the forming tool on the tool holder.
by fastening the forming tool onto the tool holder with
a bolt and a Mylar washer (Figure 9).
Measurement and adjustment of the tool’s resonance
frequency were conducted in two static (without rota-
tion) and dynamic (with rotation) states and in accor-
dance with the method described in section ‘Frequency
Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 231(6)
measurement’. For this purpose, the entire system
assembly (transmission system of US vibration +
vibrating forming tool) was examined using frequency
measurement equipment (Figure 4). Table 3 shows the
results of the natural frequency measurement.
As observed, there is a very small difference between
the tool natural frequency in the two static and dynamic
states. For proper performance evaluation of the set,
one can feel a slippery and frictionless surface in the
tool nose upon touching with a finger touch, which con-
firms the presence of vibration in the tool nose.
The difference between the natural frequency pre-
dicted by modal analysis (20.846 kHz) and that
obtained using frequency measurement equipment
(21.15 kHz) is less than 1.5%. The difference between
the generator frequency (20 kHz) and the natural fre-
quency obtained using frequency measurement equip-
ment (21.15 kHz) is less than 6%. Thus, the results
obtained from modal analysis and natural frequency
measurement of vibrating tool confirmed the emer-
gence of a longitudinal mode of vibration and reso-
nance phenomena under two static and dynamic
conditions.
Experimental procedure
Process specifications
The SPIF method of the ISMF process was employed
in this study. Figure 10 shows the fixture components.
An Al 1050-O sheet metal (annealed aluminium) was
used in the experiments. Since the initial surface rough-
ness of the sheet will influence the results, sheet metals
Vahdati et al. 977

Table 3. Results of the natural frequency measurement.

Tool state Natural frequency (kHz)

Static (without rotation) 21.16

Dynamic (with rotation) 21.14

Figure 12. Tool path strategy.

Table 4. Values of the test parameters.

Figure 10. Fixture components of SPIF process.
Parameter Value

Sheet thickness 0.7 mm

Vertical step size 0.5 mm
Tool diameter 10 mm
Spindle speed 125 r/min
Feed rate 2000 mm/min
Vibration amplitude 7.5 mm
Generator power 1000 W

The sample geometry is in the form of a 50-mm-long

straight groove that creates a sequence of vertical and
horizontal movements of the vibrating forming tool.
The path travelled by the forming tool includes 10 equal
penetrations with a vertical step size of 0.5 mm and 10
linear paths (Figure 12). The depth applied on the sam-
ples is 5 mm.
To measure the nose vibration amplitude of the
forming tool, a micron digital indicator was employed.
The vibration amplitude of the forming tool was mea-
sured to be 7.5 mm.

Process parameters
Table 4 shows the values of the test parameters both
‘without’ and ‘with’ application of US vibration.

Figure 11. Schematic diagram of the UVaISMF process.

with similar initial surface roughness were selected.
Another effective factor was the surface quality of the
forming tool, which was smooth and polished. The
sheet metal was placed between the clamping and back-
ing plates. Figure 11 shows a schematic diagram of the
UVaISMF process.
Process execution
To exclude the effect of lubricant on the output results
and prevent the interference of its effect with the effect
of vibration application, the tests were conducted in
the absence of lubricant. Figure 13 shows the formed
samples both ‘without the application of vibration’
(without US) and ‘with the application of vibration’
(with US).
978 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 231(6)

Figure 13. Formed samples in the straight groove test.

350
350
300
300
250
250
200
Fz (N)

200
Fz (N)

150 150

100 100

50 50

0 0
7.85 12.85 17.85 22.85 27.85 7.85 12.85 17.85 22.85 27.85

t (s) t (s)

Figure 14. Behaviour of Fz versus time ‘without’ the Figure 15. Behaviour of Fz versus time ‘with’ the application of
application of vibration. vibration.

Results and discussion

Effect of US vibration on vertical component of
forming force
The vertical component of forming force measured by
the dynamometer is denoted by Fz symbol, and it was
the force applied on the tool axis. Figures 14 and 15
show the behaviour of Fz versus time ‘without’ and
‘with’ the application of vibration. It can be seen that
the value of Fz decreases under US vibration.
Figure 16 shows a combination of Figures 14 and
15. The elliptical borders (in red colour) show the tool
penetration positions. In these positions, the forming
Figure 16. Positions of the penetration stages.
tool penetrates into the sheet metal vertically (0.5 mm).
Hence, the peaks in Figure 16 arise from the vertical
penetration of the tool into the sheet. Between succes-
sive peaks, the forming tool forms the straight path of namely, vertical movement (penetration) and horizon-
the groove. tal movement (path).
To analyse the measured results more accurately, the Figure 17 shows a comparative diagram of Fz ‘with-
two situations of ‘without’ and ‘with’ the application of out’ and ‘with’ the application of vibration for 10-fold
vibration were compared separately in the two stages, stage tool penetration. As can be observed, US
Vahdati et al. 979

250

200

mean value of Fz (N)

150 without US
with US
100

50

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
penetration stage

Figure 17. Comparative diagram of Fz in the vertical movements.

160

140
mean value of Fz (N)

120

100
without US
80 with US
60

40

20

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
path stage

Figure 18. Comparative diagram of Fz in the horizontal movements.

excitation of the forming tool led to reduction of the Effect of US vibration on spring-back
average Fz value. In other words, the application of US The depth of the formed samples was measured using
vibration led to a 23.5% reduction of the average Fz
a contourograph at five points with an inter-point dis-
value during various tool penetration stages.
tance of 10 mm. The average of these measurements
Figure 18 shows a comparative diagram of Fz ‘with-
was registered as the formed depth after unclamping
out’ and ‘with’ the application of vibration for the 10-
the sheet metal (have ). Table 5 shows the measurement
fold paths of horizontal tool motion. As can be
results along with the percentage of depth differences
observed, US excitation of the forming tool led to
versus the applied depth (h1 = 5 mm).
reduction of the average Fz value by 26.3% reduction
For evaluation of spring-back, a criterion called the
during horizontal movement of the forming tool.
‘coefficient of spring-back’ determined by the following
Based on the experimental results, some of the effec-
relationship was used40
tive factors in terms of force reduction in UVaISMF
are as follows: frictional changes between forming tool h1 + t20
and sheet metal, surface elastic–plastic deformation, K= ð4Þ
dynamic effects of US vibration and changes in mate- have + t20
rial flow. Generally, all of these factors are associated
In the above expression, h1 is the applied depth, t0 is
with the surface effects of US vibration.
the initial sheet thickness and have is the average
Consequently, reduction in the vertical component
measured depth after process execution. According to
of the forming force was mainly due to surface effects,
equation (4), as the value of K approaches unity, the
or changes in tool–sheet contact conditions, and not
spring-back rate decreases.
due to volume effects.
980 Proc IMechE Part B: J Engineering Manufacture 231(6)

Table 5. Results of the formed depth measurement. tool–sheet interface. An increase in temperature affects
material flow. Therefore, the vertical component of
Point no. of depth measurement Without US With US forming force and the spring-back coefficient
1 4.649 4.851 decreased.
2 4.649 4.842
3 4.651 4.844 Effect of US vibration on surface roughness
4 4.648 4.840
5 4.653 4.848 To measure and compare surface roughness of the
have (mm) 4.650 4.845 formed samples, three parameters Rz , Ra and Rp were
Difference percentage 27 23.1 employed as the evaluation criteria. Rz is the average
US: ultrasonic. peak to valley height of the profile. Rz was selected to
prevent the influence of any accidental surface irregu-
larity on the experimental evaluation of roughness.41Ra
is the most popular parameter for product quality con-
Table 6. Spring-back coefficients of the formed samples.
trol and surface finishing.17 This parameter was chosen
Spring-back coefficient Without US With US to provide a general description of surface amplitude.
Rp is the value of the highest single peak above the cen-
K 1.07 1.03 tre line of the profile. The profilometer can measure this
parameter simultaneously with Rz and Ra parameters.
US: ultrasonic.
The back surfaces of the samples were measured
using a MarSurf PS1 Mahr profilometer. The plunger
of this profilometer was made to travel in the direction
Table 7. Measured values of the surface roughness parameters. of the formed groove. The measurements were con-
ducted within the middle region of the samples. The
Parameter Rz (mm) Ra (mm) Rp (mm)
middle region is at an adequate distance from both
Without US 47.2 11.55 25.3 ends of the samples. Table 7 lists the measured values
With US 21.3 5.49 12.1 of the surface roughness parameters.
Reduction percentage 254.90 252.50 252.20 Figure 19 shows a comparative diagram of the sur-
US: ultrasonic.
face roughness parameters ‘without’ and ‘with’ the
application of vibration. As can be observed, the appli-
cation of vibration to the forming tool led to decreased
surface roughness.
50 Applying US vibration to the forming tool causes an
alternating motion at the tool–sheet interface in the local
45
deformation zone, which leads to the following results:
40
surface roughness (µm)

35 Rz
 Static friction was changed to dynamic friction
30
between the forming tool and the sheet metal sur-
Ra
faces, which finally reduced slippery–sticking beha-
25 Rp viour. Thus, material flow and surface quality of
20 the sample improved;
15
 The alternating motion led to elastic–plastic defor-
mation of surface asperities, as the hills have a
10
greater tendency to move into the valleys.
5 Therefore, surface quality of the sample improved.
0
without US with US
Conclusion
Figure 19. Comparative diagram of the surface roughness In this article, the process of design, analysis, fabrica-
parameters. tion and testing of a vibrating forming tool for develop-
ment of UVaISMF was presented. Accordingly, to test
the performance of the developed vibrating tool, a
Table 6 lists the spring-back coefficients of the straight groove test was conducted on Al 1050-O sheet
formed samples. As can be inferred, the depth increased metals both ‘with’ and ‘without’ the application of
and the spring-back coefficient decreased when employ- vibration. The important results of this research are
ing the vibrating tool in comparison with that when summarized as follows:
employing the non-vibrating tool.
It seems that the surface elastic–plastic deformation  The emergence of resonance in the longitudinal
due to US effects increases the temperature at the mode of the vibrating tool was confirmed in static
Vahdati et al.
(without rotation) and dynamic (with rotation)
states based on the results of the numerical analysis
(f = 20.846 kHz) and measurement of the tool’s
natural frequency (f = 21.15 kHz). Thus, the vibra-
tional performance of the tool in terms of its instal-
lation on the vibration transmission system and
execution of UVaISMF was proved;
 The results of the modal analysis show that the
FEM package Abaqus can be used successfully as a
powerful and reliable instrument predicting the
vibrational behaviour of a vibrating forming tool;
 The comparison between the behaviours of Fz
‘without’ and ‘with’ the application of vibration
showed that the values of the vertical component of
the forming force decreased under the US vibration
effect. In other words, the average values of Fz dur-
ing vertical and horizontal movements decreased
by 23.5% and 26.3%, respectively;
 The comparison between the average values of the
formed depths ‘without’ (have = 4:650 mm) and
‘with’ the application of vibration (have = 4:845 mm)
showed that the sample depth increased under the
effect of US vibration;
 The comparison between the spring-back coeffi-
cients of the formed samples ‘without’ (K = 1.07)
and ‘with’ the application of vibration (K = 1.03)
showed that the spring-back rate decreased under
the US vibration effect;
 sheet metal forming with a high speed water jet. In: Pro-
The comparison between the values of surface
roughness parameters achieved ‘without’ and ‘with’
the application of vibration showed that the values
of Rz , Ra and Rp decreased under the US vibration
effect by 54.9%, 52.5% and 52.2%, respectively.
Acknowledgements
The corresponding author gratefully acknowledges
the support provided by Dr M. A. Rasoli and Dr A.
Abdullah for technical assistance. He also takes the oppor-
tunity to appreciate friendly assistance of Mr Karimnejad
and Mr Hosseinpour for providing machineries.
Declaration of conflicting interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest
with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publi-
cation of this article.
Funding
The author(s) received no financial support for the
research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
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