In order to find out the optimal press bend forming path in fabricating aircraft integral panels, this article proposes a new method on the basis of the authors＇ previous work. It is composed of the finite element method （FEM） equivalent model, the surface curvature analysis, the artificial neural network response surface and the genetic algorithm. The method begins with analyzing the objective＇s shape curvature to determine the bending position. Then it optimizes the punch travel at each bending position by the following steps： （1） Establish a multi-step press bend forming FEM equivalent model, with which the FEM ex- periments designed with the Taguchi method are performed. （2） Construct a back-propagation （BP） neural network response surface with the data from the FEM experiments. （3） Use the genetic algorithm to optimize the neural network response surface as the objective function. Finally, this method is verified by press bending a complicated double-curvature grid-type stiffened panel and bears out its effectiveness and intrinsic worth in designing the press bend forming path.
