<p>A flexible and efficient single-stage incremental sheet forming process is proposed for the manufacturing of cylindrical or axisymmetric cups with vertical walls. The process utilizes a simple helical tool path around a central mandrel, eliminating the need for complex intermediate geometries or intricate toolpath strategies, and it is based on a recently proposed incremental cylindrical cup test, designed by the authors to evaluate fracture in incremental sheet forming. Experimental tests on 1.6 mm thick high-strength AA7075-O aluminium sheets with varying initial blank diameters explore the formability window of the process and identify the typical failure mechanisms. An adaptation of the classical limiting draw ratio used in conventional deep drawing to incremental sheet forming allows presenting the ‘incremental limiting draw ratio’ as a critical process design parameter. The results indicate that defect-free cups can be created for incremental limiting draw ratios up to 1.398, beyond which failure occurs due to incipient wrinkling or fracture. Additionally, the findings reveal that the fracture strains measured during the newly proposed single-stage incremental sheet forming process exceed those observed in conventional Nakajima tests, highlighting the different deformation mechanisms involved. Results confirm that the proposed single-stage incremental sheet forming process addresses the limitations of conventional incremental forming in creating vertical walls caused by excessive thickness reduction. The process is well-suited for the small-batch and customized production of cylindrical or axisymmetric cups with vertical walls due to its simplicity and compatibility with standard 3-axis CNC machining centers.</p>