Microscale laser flexible dynamic forming of Cu/Ni laminated composite metal sheets

Currently, the forming processes employed on formation of laminated composite metal sheets belong to quasi-static loading either in macroscale or microscale. Innovative forming processes are requested to meet the challenges in manufacturing of micro components produced by new materials. A new process that employing microscale laser flexible dynamic forming (MLFDF) on formation of laminated composite metal sheets was adopted in this paper. The feasibility of this new process was verified firstly. The research results showed that, the forming depth of Cu/Ni laminated composite metal sheets under MLFDF increased with laser energy increasing, number of laser pulse increasing and thickness of soft punch decreasing. Surface roughening happened in formed parts and the roughness increased with laser energy increasing. Deformation of Cu/Ni laminated composite metal sheets was dominant by external layer. Unlike conventional forming processes, it was found stacking sequence didn't have considerable effect on forming behavior of Cu/Ni laminated composite metal sheets under MLFDF. Another advantage of MLFDF was discovered that Cu/Ni laminated composite metal sheets were formed without any delamination till fracture under this forming process. The experiment revealed that MLFDF could be a promising alternative of conventional microscale forming processes for formation of laminated composite metal sheets.