Extending the range of geometries in die-less sheet metal forming

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The forming of sheet metals accounts for a significant proportion of manufacturing process in industry, with up to 20% of metals produced being used in forming parts [Cullen et al. (2012) and Cullen & Allwood (2013)]. However, when either prototyping new parts that are to be formed, or producing a small quantity of batch parts traditional forming processes are often hindered by their lack of flexibility, often requiring bespoke tooling and dies. With the limited use of these toolings/dies, this makes for a both costly and environmentally harmful process. In response to this, the past 20 years has seen a new field of research into different methods of flexible forming.Despite this recent growth within the field, research into different methods of flexible production is still underdeveloped. Consequently, novel methods of flexible forming are continually sought. When seeking new solutions, engineers often look back to traditional craft processes as inspiration, seeking to enhance the process through mechanising or automating the practice. One such machine that has yet to be mechanised or investigated in depth is the English wheel; otherwise known as a Wheeling machine. The English wheel is uses two rollers to thin and consequently stretch the sheet into different compound curvature forms. Through seemingly popular amongst metalworking enthusiasts, there is very limited academic literature on the process, presenting a considerable void in understanding.This void in the literature motivates my research aims, which are to: Extensively review the literature on current flexible forming technologies to ascertain a deeper understanding of their current scope and capabilities. Develop a representative numerical simulation of the wheeling process using ABAQUS finite element software. Validate these findings using an English wheel machine. Investigate the different attainable geometries through utilizing the model within a parametric study.The more far reaching aims of my research look to: Identify other classical crafting methods that may be suitable for modernizing and reinventing as methods of flexible forming. Design and build a mechanized, (semi-) automated desktop variation of the English wheel Using ML principles, utilize this desktop machine to acquire even more data on the process and investigate ways of further automation. By developing this novel flexible forming solution, this work will look to extend the range of current flexible forming processes, broadening the possible geometries that can be formed. The research will also fill the void of academic literature surrounding the English wheel and add to the knowledgebase of deformation mechanics.