Thermal Influencing Distribution of Sheet Metal during the Process of Laser Forming

Laser forming is a new type of sheet metal forming process. The sheet metal is formed by asymmetrical thermal stresses. The stresses are induced by the temperature grads of heat-affected-zone when a scanning laser beam goes along the sheet. The distribution of heat-affected-zone was analyzed through finite element simulation. And the effects of laser power, facula diameter, scanning velocity and scanning path on the heat-affected-zone also were investigated.