International Journal of Machine Tools & Manufacture 41 (2001) 589–607 Computer simulation and experimental investigation of sheet metal bending using laser beam scanning Z. Hu, M. Labudovic, H. Wang, R. Kovacevic * Department of Mechanical Engineering, Southern Methodist University, P.O. Box 750337, Dallas, TX 75275-0335, USA Received 12 August 1999; received in revised form 22 June 2000; accepted 10 July 2000 Abstract Computer simulation and experimental investigation of the sheet metal bending into a V-shape by the laser beam scanning without an external force exerted onto it have been performed. A 3-D FEM simulation has been carried out, which includes a non-linear transient indirect coupled thermal-structural analysis accounting for the temperature dependency of the thermal and mechanical properties of the materials. The bending angle, distribution of stress–strain, temperature and residual stresses have been obtained from the simulations. The sheet metal bending had been performed for different materials, thicknesses, scanning speeds and laser powers. The measurement of real-time temperature and bending angle was carried out. The bending angle is affected by the mechanical and thermal properties of the sheet metal material, the process parameters, and the output of laser energy. The bending angle is increased with the number of laser beam scanning passes and is the function of the laser power and the laser beam scanning speed. The simulation results are in agreement with the experimental results.  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Laser forming; Simulation; Bending; Finite element method 1. Introduction Laser metal-forming is a promising technology in manufacturing, such as in the automobile, shipbuilding, and aerospace industries. The rapid, flexible and low-cost metal-forming can improve the competitiveness of these industries [1–7]. Laser forming technology began in the 1980s, and in that time, the development of laser-forming technology was more concentrated on * Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1-214-768-4865; fax: + 1-214-768-0812. E-mail address: kovacevi@seas.smu.edu (R. Kovacevic). 0890-6955/01/$ - see front matter  2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PII:S0890-6955(00)00058-4