Title: An investigation into the laser forming process of perforated tubes

Abstract

Tube bending is always a challenge in conventional bending. Usually, an internal plug is inserted inside the tube, and bending happens. However, a laser beam can also be used for tube bending. The laser beam is irradiated on the tube surfaces and may result in 2D or 3D tube bending. The laser tube bending process (LTBP) process is a thermal non-contact process for bending tubes with less springback and less thinning of the tube. In this work, the laser forming process of perforated tubes is studied numerically. For this purpose, the finite element simulations are performed in ABQUS software. In addition, the effects of process parameters such as laser output power, laser scanning speed and laser beam diameter on the characteristics of laser formed tubes are studied.