Studies on laser forming of Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheet

In this paper, the processes of laser forming along linear irradiation paths and curved irradiation paths have been investigated and the effects of deformation parameters on the bending angle also have been studied for Ti-6Al-4V alloy sheets with poor deformability at ambient temperature. The tests show that laser curve bending produces a significant reduction in the achievable bending angle compared with laser linear bending under the same conditions of deformation, and the bending angle decreases with increasing path curvature. Furthermore, on the relatively smaller side of irradiation paths, a 3D deformation is generated and the sheet is extended and thinned slightly during laser curve forming. This is very different from the laser linear bending which produces a symmetrical deformation on the two sides of irradiation paths. The bending angle decreases sharply with an increase in the sheet thickness and increases with an increase in the sheet width, and is generally in proportion to the laser feed number. In addition, excessively high laser energy density will result in a reduction in the achievable bending angle and the microstructure changes of Ti-6Al-4V alloy.