Deformation Machining - A New Hybrid Process

This paper describes a novel hybrid process, Deformation Machining, that combines two emerging manufacturing processes – machining of thin structures and single point incremental forming. This hybrid process enables the creation of structures that have geometries that would be difficult or impossible to create using any other processes. A feasibility study has been conducted exploring the toolpath planning and deformation force data was collected. Because the forming operations occur on sheet-like material made by machining rather than rolling, we have conducted experiments testing the formability of machined sheet. Preliminary results are encouraging, and point to a broad range of industrial applications for this process.