A novel sheet metal forming method—Millipede forming

Millipede forming, a novel sheet metal forming method, has been proposed and developed recently to overcome fundamental limitations in conventional roll forming. For this new method, there are two main aspects: use of an optimal transitional surface and implementation of a method to feed the strip through the transition surface. Achieving the optimal transitional surface involves defining the change of surface shape between a flat strip and a final shaped product conceptualised to the strip's mid-surface, regardless of the strip's thickness.In this paper, one method of implementing a transition surface, Millipede forming, is introduced. A prototype has been built to demonstrate the working principle and can be used to produce some simple profiles, within a short forming length of 200 mm.