Kinematics-based determination of the rolling region in roll bending for smoothly curved plates

Abstract

This paper proposes and develops a kinematics-based, systematic approach to determine the region of a plate to be rolled, in order to fabricate smoothly curved plates. The approach includes a kinematic analysis to calculate the plate's curvature distribution, and, in addition, a linear regression analysis to determine the initial and final locations of the roller during the roll bending process. Three artificial cases and two real cases have been studied, and the results are in good agreement with field practices. This approach will play an important role in the automation and optimization of the plate forming process.