Non-thermal Laser Forming of Sheet Metal

Abstract

In this paper the results of some preliminary experiments are presented on non-thermal microforming of thin metal sheets with laser induced optical breakdown shock waves. Three sheet metal forming processes are realized with this method. The most deeply investigated process is laser stretch-forming, since the influence of parameters like defocussing, power density, pulse energy, number of pulses, and material could be worked out. The results show that uniform shaped domes with a dome height over 250 µm with diameters of 1.4 mm could be produced. Additionally, first investigations on laser stamping and laser embossing have been carried out, but are not presented in this paper.