Laser Forming
An exploration of thermo provoked forming.
An exploration of thermo provoked forming.
Since the 1980s laser forming has grown in use asa process for creating metallic forms using thermo provoked stresses. These thermostresses bend and shape components into the desired results. Laser formingallows for processes that require no mechanical force contact, such as deepdrawing, pressing and stamping. A benefit that laser forming has over theseconventional mechanical stress processes is that there is little or noadditional manufacturing tools required to form basic shapes. For example to prototype/manufacturea bowl conventionally, you are required to build male and female parts beforeyou can use a press to form the shape. A sink is a perfect example of this. Asa sink manufacturer goes through its design process it would be required to makemany prototypes, and each prototype would require new male and female stamp.Due to this, laser forming is much more effective for small batch/one offprototyping, as laser forming is versatile to many shapes. However, what isrequired is a well-grounded knowledge of how materials react to laser stresses,and a reasonable control mechanism (software). Lasers have a wide range of usesin industry such as welding, engraving and cutting. Therefore laser forming, asa process, can be integrated into larger manufacturing process. It would thenbe possible to cut, form and weld on one process station using lasers.
Steven has performed an experimental exploration into thepossibilities and limitations of using adesktop laser to form metal sheet. The process started with Steven completing aseries of tests on sample pieces, to get an idea of the controllability andcapabilities of the desktop laser. Having established the methods of creatingbasic geometric shapes, Steven then went on to develop the geometric strategyfor creating a prototype of a sink. Laser forming becomes incrediblyinteresting when considering that not only does the placement of the geometrieson the control system affect the resulting forms produced, so does the lineorder in which they are processed.
Steven has performed an experimental exploration into thepossibilities and limitations of using adesktop laser to form metal sheet. The process started with Steven completing aseries of tests on sample pieces, to get an idea of the controllability andcapabilities of the desktop laser. Having established the methods of creatingbasic geometric shapes, Steven then went on to develop the geometric strategyfor creating a prototype of a sink. Laser forming becomes incrediblyinteresting when considering that not only does the placement of the geometrieson the control system affect the resulting forms produced, so does the lineorder in which they are processed.
Laser forming process using a 75W desktop laser.
