Research Projects

Manufacturing industries are focusing on developing advanced micro-fabrication facilities to meet the growing demand for miniaturization and custom micro-products fabricated from ultra-thin sheets (foils). Forming ultra-thin metal sheets into complex components requires extreme accuracy, especially when feature size reduces to tens or hundreds of microns. Scaling down traditional equipment and machinery is challenging due to the difficulty in scaling down machinery and supporting equipment. Macro-scale forming techniques are incapable of incorporating material size effects, microstructure development, tooling design, material non-homogeneity/anisotropy, and final product handling for post-processing. The µISF approach overcomes the limitations of macro-ISF by offering ultra-precision range with better energy optimization. The forming tool continuously navigates through the foil's surface to precisely deform it into complex symmetric and non-symmetric 3D components without using dedicated dies or punches. This approach offers extreme flexibility, lesser equipment cost, and improved dimensional accuracy and precision. The present attempt is to develop a novel process for the fabrication of complex geometrical shapes at micro-scale, incorporating the effect of grain size, microstructural changes, and anisotropy on material deformation in ultra-thin sheets (foils). The work will explore innovative ways of fabricating the forming tool and increasing the stiffness of the foil for better forming attributes. The proposed µISF process will pose new challenges and require novel ways to enhance formability, dimensional accuracy, and surface finish.