INTRODUCTION

SHEET FORMING comprises deformation processes in which a metal blank is

shaped by tools or dies, primarily under the action of tensile stresses. The design and
control of such processes depend on the characteristics of the work-piece material, the
conditions at the tool/work piece interface, the mechanics of plastic deformation, the
equipment used, and the finished-product requirements. These factors influence the
selection of tool geometry and material as well as processing conditions (work piece and
tooling temperatures, lubrication, etc.). Because of the complexity of many sheet-forming
operations, models of various types, such as analytic, physical, or numerical models, are
often relied on to design such processes.

HISTORICAL PRESPECTIVE
Bulk-forming techniques such as forging have been used in various forms for
thousands of years. By comparison, sheet-forming processes, except for the bending of
narrow work pieces, are relatively recent. This is because techniques to roll wide sheets
of metal of uniform thickness were not developed until the 1500s. It was not until the
middle part of the 19th century, however, that mass production via sheet forming became
a reality with the advent of processes for forming tin-plated sheet steels for the canning
industry (Ref 1). Subsequently, two major commercial sectors set the pace for advances
in sheet forming, namely, the automotive industry, beginning at approximately the turn of
the 20th century, and the home-appliance industry after World War I. Both of these
industries required large quantities of low-carbon sheet steel. Such needs were met by the
development of tandem mill rolling, a technology pioneered in the paper industry and
subsequently adopted in the steel industry by the American Rolling Mill Company
(Armco) and others.

During the latter half of the 20th century, the need to reduce the weight of
automobiles to improve fuel economy spurred the development of various grades of high-
strength sheet steels in addition to low-carbon and ultra low-carbon steels with improved
formability. These developments were aided by increased knowledge of the effect of
alloying, rolling, and annealing practices on ductility, plastic anisotropy, and thus
stamping performance as well as on post formed properties. The transition from glass
(primarily used prior to the 1970s) to metallic containers for beverages also led to a boom
in the sheet-metal rolling and forming industries, first for steel and then for aluminum.

More recently, warm and super plastic forming techniques for aluminum and
magnesium sheet alloys have been developed and implemented in the automotive and
other industries. Furthermore, the conventional and super plastic forming of titanium,
nickel-base, and refractory alloys has become commonplace for aerospace applications.
These developments have been aided by increased knowledge related to formability, the
effect of prior processing on microstructure and texture evolution in sheet materials, and
the constitutive response of metals during forming. The development of powerful user-
friendly finite-element codes for process simulation and design, the advent of rapid
prototyping applications, the adoption of flexible binder technology, and the use of
adaptive process controls have been among the most recent advances in the area of sheet
forming.
CLASSIFICATION OF SHEET-FORMING PROCESSES
In metalworking, an initially simple part is plastically deformed between tools (or dies) to
obtain the desired final configuration. Metal-forming processes are usually classified
according to two broad categories:

• Bulk, or massive, forming operations

• Sheet-forming operations

Sheet forming is also referred to as forming. In the broadest and most accepted sense,
however, the term forming can be used to describe both bulk-deformation processes and
sheet forming processes. Forming processes are also typically classified further into
categories, as described in Fig. 1.

In both bulk and sheet deformation, forming is done with some contact between
the surfaces of the deforming metal and a tool. Depending on the nature of the contact,
friction between the tool and work piece also may have a major influence on material
flow. The major distinction is that deformation occurs in bulk or in a more localized or
directional fashion. Bulk-forming operations typically involve multidirectional
deformation throughout the volume of a worked mass, as in the cases of forging,
extrusion drawing, rolling, coining, sizing, and thread forming. In bulk forming, the input
material is in billet, rod, or slab form, and the surface-to-volume ratio in the formed part
increases considerably under the action of largely compressive loading.

In contrast to bulk forming, sheet forming often involves local deformation. During sheet
forming, a piece of sheet metal is plastically deformed by tensile loads into a three-
dimensional shape, often without a significant change in its thickness or surface
characteristics. The characteristics of sheet-metal-forming processes are (Ref 3):

• The work piece is a sheet or a part fabricated from a sheet.

• The deformation usually causes significant changes in the shape, but not
necessarily the cross-sectional area, of the sheet.
• In some cases, the magnitudes of the plastic and the elastic (recoverable)
deformations are comparable; therefore, elastic recovery or spring back may be
significant.

Examples of sheet-forming processes include deep drawing, stretching, bending,

rubber-pad forming, and other methods (Fig. 2). Sheet forming methods can also be
classified according to suitable methods in obtaining desired dimensional features, such
as surface contours or deep recesses (Table 1). Some methods of local deformation also
extend beyond sheet forming to the bending and forming of solid sections and tubular
products. These forming methods are discussed in the Section “Forming of Bar, Tube,
and Wire” in this Volume.