Single point incremental forming of shape memory polymer foam

¹ Department of Mechanical Engineering, KU Leuven, 3001 Heverlee-Leuven, Belgium
² Department of Mechanical, Energy and Management Engineering, University of Calabria, 87036 Rende, CS, Italy

^a Corresponding author: e-mail: Amirahmad.Mohammadi@kuleuven.be

Abstract

In this study single point incremental forming of shape memory foam is investigated. The shape memory effect makes the foam an attractive material for the fabrication of recoverable components such as reusable dies for low pressure forming processes. The mechanical properties of the polymer have been investigated by means of tensile testing at elevated temperature. The maximum achievable formability for this material for single point incremental forming has been characterized both at room and elevated temperature. After an explorative study on simple benchmark cases, heat assisted single point incremental forming has been used to study the possibility of manufacturing a recoverable die for custom-made orthopaedic shoe insoles.