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

金属板的成形在工业制造过程中占很大比例，高达20%的金属被用于成形零件[Cullen等人（2012）和Cullen & Allwood(2013)]。然而，当要成型的新零件原型制作或生产少量批量零件时，传统的成型工艺往往由于缺乏灵活性而受到阻碍，通常需要定制工具和模具。由于这些工具/模具的使用有限，这使得成本高昂且对环境有害。针对这一点，在过去的20年里，人们对不同的柔性成形方法进行了新的研究。尽管该领域最近有所增长，但对柔性生产的不同方法的研究仍然不发达。因此，人们不断寻求柔性成形的新方法。在寻求新的解决方案时，工程师通常会从传统工艺过程中寻找灵感，寻求通过机械化或自动化实践来提高工艺。一种这样的机器，尚未机械化或深入研究是英国车轮；也被称为滚轮机。英国车轮是使用两个滚轮薄，从而拉伸板材成不同的复合曲率形式。虽然在金属加工爱好者中似乎很流行，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。这种文献上的空白促使我的研究目标是：广泛地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层次的理解。利用ABAQUS有限元软件对滚轮过程进行了具有代表性的数值模拟。用一台英国车轮机验证这些发现。通过在参数研究中利用模型来研究不同的可获得的几何形状。我的研究更深远的目标是：确定其他经典的工艺方法，这些方法可能适合于现代化和重新发明灵活成型的方法。利用机器学习原理，设计并建造一个机械化（半）自动化的英式轮盘的桌面变体，利用这台桌面机器获取更多的过程数据，并研究进一步自动化的方法。通过开发这种新颖的柔性成型解决方案，这项工作将扩展当前柔性成型工艺的范围，拓宽可能形成的几何形状。本研究也将填补英文转轮相关学术文献的空白，增加变形力学的知识库。

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.