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

金属板材的成形在工业制造过程中占很大比例，高达20%的金属用于成形零件[Cullen et al.（2012）and Cullen & Allwood（2013）]。然而，当对要形成的新零件进行原型制作或生产少量批量零件时，传统的成形工艺通常因缺乏灵活性而受到阻碍，通常需要定制的工具和模具。由于这些工具/模具的使用有限，这使得工艺既昂贵又对环境有害。在过去的20年里，人们开始研究柔性成形的各种方法。尽管这一领域最近有所发展，但对柔性生产的各种方法的研究仍然不发达。因此，不断寻求柔性成形的新方法。在寻求新的解决方案时，工程师经常回顾传统工艺流程作为灵感，寻求通过机械化或自动化实践来增强流程。其中一种尚未机械化或深入研究的机器是英国轮;也称为旋转机。英国轮是使用两个辊薄，从而拉伸成不同的复合曲率形式的片材。虽然表面上在金属加工爱好者中很流行，但关于该工艺的学术文献非常有限，在理解上存在相当大的空白。文献中的这种空白激发了我的研究目标，即：广泛回顾当前柔性成形技术的文献，以确定对其当前范围和能力的更深入理解。 使用ABAQUS有限元软件开发旋转过程的代表性数值模拟。使用英国轮式机器验证这些发现。通过在参数研究中利用模型来研究不同的可实现的几何形状。我的研究的更深远的目标是：识别其他可能适合现代化和改造为柔性成形方法的经典工艺方法。设计和构建一个机械化、（半）自动化的台式英式砂轮变体使用ML原理，利用这台台式机器获取更多的工艺数据，并研究进一步自动化的方法。通过开发这种新型的柔性成形解决方案，这项工作将扩大当前柔性成形工艺的范围，扩大可以成形的可能几何形状。这项研究也将填补空白的学术文献周围的英语车轮和增加的知识基础的变形力学。

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.