Development of a irradiation strategy within a closed loop control system for the laser adjustment of deformation

By means of flexible forming processes in sheet metal manufacturing it is possible to produce parts of complex geometry within short manufacturing time. These procedures are suitable especially for prototyping or adjustment of deformation. Here formative procedures like laser forming are increasingly important, because they make the large-scale-like production of the prototypes with the required materials possible. High accuracy and reproducibility of the products is the precondition of the production. Due to the lack of a forming tool, complex geometries can hardly be manufactured within tolerances. To overcome this problem an automatic closed loop control system for the adjustment of deformations has been developed. An important element of the closed loop control system is the definition of a suitable irradiation strategy for laser forming. For the determination of the irradiation strategy a lot of influences must be taken into consideration from the field of material, geometry and laser. In this paper the improved closed loop control system and the development of an irradiation strategy for 4 mm deep buckles in an ALMgSi1 sheet will be represented. This system can be used e.g. in the automated adjustment of hail damage in car bodies or deformation by heat treatment.