Search

Conventional bending methods require high strength tools to bend the components and these methods are also associated with defects such as spring back, wrinkling instability, wall thinning and distortions at the cross-section. Laser bending offers precision and control and prevents defects associated with traditional bending methods. The present paper examines the effect of laser processing parameters on the bending and vibration characteristics of 304 stainless steel tube. A three-dimensional (3-D) coupled thermo-mechanical finite element (FE) model of the 304 stainless steel was developed using ABAQUS software to simulate the laser-based tube bending process. The process parameters such as laser power from 100 to 400 W and number of laser scans from 2 to 8 are considered. The simulation results showed that the bending angle increases with increasing laser power and the laser passes. In contrast, increasing laser power and laser scans resulted in a small increase in the natural frequency of the laser bent 304 stainless steel. Among the five modes of vibration, the fifth mode produced the highest natural frequency, with an average value of 9942.65 Hz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]