Analysis on process parameters of laser bending of preloaded metal plate

Laser bending of preloaded metal plate is a relatively new bending method and its process parameters are researched in this paper. A finite element model of the forming process was established based on software ABAQUS, and its reliability was verified by test. Then, finite element simulations using different process parameter values were done by uniform design. On the basis of the simulation results, a regression model of relationship between the process parameters and deformation amount was developed. Further, influences of the process parameters on the deformation amount and the internal reasons of these influences were analyzed. It is shown that among the parameters the scanning speed has the greatest influence on the deformation amount while the laser power has the minimal influence. The negative interaction of the laser spot diameter and scanning speed affects the deformation amount significantly. The deformation amount increases almost exponentially with the increase of preload amount, increases linearly with the increase of laser power, and decreases almost linearly with the increase of laser spot diameter. Moreover, it decreases at first and increases later with the increase of scanning speed.