A multicurved sheet metal surface for a skin structure has usually been manufactured using a conventional die forming process\ninvolving the use of both a die and a press machine in accordance with the product shape.However, such processes are economically\ninefficient because additional production costs are incurred for the development and management of forming tools. To overcome\nthis drawback, many alternative processes have been developed; however, these still suffer from problems due to defects such as\ndimples and wrinkles occurring in the sheet. In this study, a new sheet metal forming process called the flexibly reconfigurable roll\nforming (FRRF) process is proposed as an alternative to existing processes. Unlike existing processes, FRRF can reduce additional\nproduction costs resulting from material loss and significantly reduce forming errors. Furthermore, it involves the use of a smaller\napparatus. The methodology and applicable procedure of the FRRF process are described. Numerical forming simulations of\nrepresentative multicurved sheet surfaces are conducted using FEM. In addition, a simple apparatus is developed for verifying\nthe feasibility of this process, and a doubly curved metal is formed to verify the applicability of the reconfigurable roller, a critical\ncomponent in this forming process.
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