Online measurement of the surface during laser forming

The laser forming process is characterized by high temperature gradients and localized deformation. The process uses a laser
to introduce thermal strains. The localized deformation along with the high temperature gradients is introduced iteratively which creates a complex and dynamic forming process. To understand the dynamic behavior of the process, various models have been used. A limitation of these models is that verification is commonly based on comparison with the final shape. The present work is an attempt to measure the dynamic response during laser forming. This work will present a laser forming setup for measuring the dynamic response of a v-bend. A 2D laser range scanner was used for measuring a line perpendicular to the laser heating scan path. By scanning multiple samples and changing the relative position of the 2D laser range scanner along the laser heating scan path, a surface can be generated. Analysis of the surface shows that the plate undergoes different deformation profiles during forming—this can help in understanding the changes that incur during laser forming. A case study is performed where the experimental results are compared with a state-of-the-art numerical model with good correlation between results. This shows that the measured dynamic response can be used for improved verification of numerical models of laser forming to increase confidence in the numerical results.