Surface quality remains a critical factor limiting the widespread adoption of incremental sheet forming (ISF). This study proposes a novel acetal wheel-type rotating tool and systematically investigates the influence of tool structure and material on surface quality through experimental and numerical analyses. The results demonstrate that the acetal tool significantly improves surface quality by 32–40% compared to conventional metal ball tools, primarily due to enhanced sheet–tool contact area that effectively suppresses the formation of surface waviness topography. Furthermore, the wheel-type tool reduces contact stress by over 37.5% while improving surface quality by 21.1% relative to traditional metal ball tools. Notably, the acetal rotating wheel achieves a 32.0% surface quality enhancement while eliminating tool wear, highlighting its industrial applicability. These findings provide both a mechanistic understanding and a practical tooling solution, highlighting significant potential for improving surface quality in ISF industrial applications.
Song et al. (Mon,) studied this question.