## 1 Introduction  
High-throughput production of large micro- and nanotextured surfaces by laser has been recently reported by different groups [1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6]. It has been achieved thanks to the use of industrial, kW class, ultra-short pulse (USP) lasers jointly with a specific beam engineering strategy [7]. Often, two distinct approaches have been employed: (i) splitting of the beam into several sub-beams by beam shaping techniques to carry out parallel processing [3], and (ii) scanning of the beam at unprecedented speed to mitigate the effects of pulse overlapping [1]. Both approaches made it possible to reduce the takt time of laser texturing down to a few min/m\({}^{2}\). Nonetheless, the high-throughput processing of complex parts is still limited by several issues, such as the difficulty of reaching regions where the geometry of the part exhibits high aspect ratio shapes or tortuous profiles, and the consequent need to adapt the laser processing workstation to the geometry of one part only. To address these issues, post-laser processing techniques can be employed to functionalise large 3D parts, such as, for instance, injection moulding of parts from laser-functionalised moulds. In recent years, this technique has become the method of choice to functionalise some polymeric materials [4; 8], but efforts still need to be put in place to extend the process to a larger range of polymers and other materials like metals.  
The forming process is a well-known method for producing parts of any shape from metallic foils by applying specific constraints. It could represent an attractive solution for the generation of 3D laser-functionalised shapes compatible with mass industrial production. However, for most applications [9; 10], it is important that after the laser texturing, the flat metallic surface retains unchanged mechanical characteristics and eventually its surface properties.  
In this work, the forming of 200 \(\upmu\)m thick USP laser nanotextured stainless-steel foils and the mechanical properties of the final formed functionalised parts were investigated to evaluate the possibility of employing this post laser-processing technique to produce laser-functionalised 3D complex products. Furthermore, the potential for using forming to generate 3D functionalised shapes at an industrial scale depends on the mass production of textured surfaces that can be subsequently shaped. In this study, we utilized a laser processing workstation based on a roll-to-roll design, allowing for continuous treatment of parts. The setup included a high-power, MHz, USP laser (max P = 320 W) and a fast polygon scanner to prevent heat accumulation phenomena. It made it possible to process coils as long as several tens of meters with a cycle time as short as 5 min per square meter, depending on the required surface texture [11]. Initially, laser-induced surface morphologies were optimized to achieve the highest level of morphological homogeneity and uniformity, free from unwanted thermal effects. This allowed neglecting a possible dependence of the mechanical test results on the surface imperfections. Once the laser process parameters were identified, a 200 \(\upmu\)m thick stainless steel foil was textured by generating highly homogeneous laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS). Several specimens were finally cut from untreated, and laser-treated foils and subjected to a comprehensive set of mechanical tests (both static and dynamic) simulating the conditions a metallic foil undergoes during the forming process. A comparative study has been conducted (nanotextured vs. untreated) to highlight the impact of nanotexturing on the forming process and gain insights into its feasibility.