Non-contact sheet forming using lasers applied to a high strength aluminum alloy

Laser beam forming (LBF) is a contactless mechanical process accomplished by the introduction of thermal stresses on the surface of a material using a laser in order to induce plastic deformation. In this work, LBF was performed on 1.6 mm thick sheets of a high strength aluminum alloy, AA6013-T4 class by using a defocused continuous Yb-fiber laser beam of 0.6 mm in diameter on the sheet top surface. The laser power and process speed were varied from 200 W to 2000 W and from 3 to 30 mm/s, respectively. For these experimental conditions, the bending angle of the sheet ranged from 0.1° to 2.5° per run. In the highest bending angle condition, 1000 W and 30 mm/s, the depth of remelted pool was 0.6 mm and the microstructure near the plate bottom surface remained unaltered. For the whole set of experimental conditions, the hardness remained constant at approximately 100 HV, which is similar to the base material. In order to verify the applicability of the method, some previously T-welded sheets were straightened. The method was efficient in correcting the distortion of the sheets with a bending angle up to 5°.