Search Results for Sheet metal

Bending is a common metalworking operation to create localized deformation in sheets (or blanks), plates, sections, tubes, and wires. This article emphasizes on the bending of sheet metal along with some coverage on flanging. It informs that variations in the bending stresses cause springback after bending, and discusses the variables and their effects on springback, as well as the methods to overcome or counteract them. These methods include overbending, bottoming or setting, and stretch bending. The article provides information on elastic bending, non-cylindrical bending, elastic-plastic bending, and pure plastic bending. Sheet metal bendability is a critical factor in many forming operations. The article illustrates the derivation of two relevant bend-ductility equations.

This article focuses on the technology breakthroughs that make forming simulation a routine work throughout the industry. It discusses many forms of the computer-aided engineering (CAE) methodology. The article describes several failure criteria to predict the failure of sheet metal. It explains the numerical procedure for sheet metal forming and reviews the important technical issues in CAE simulations. The article provides information on the applications and process of metal-forming simulation. It also reviews the capabilities of major systems that are popular among sheet metal forming users worldwide.

This article describes the various types of press construction and the factors that influence the selection of mechanically or hydraulically powered machines for producing parts from sheet metal. Presses are broadly classified, according to the type of frame used in their construction, into two main groups: gap-frame presses and straight-side presses. The article describes the various components of mechanical presses and hydraulic presses. It discusses important factors, such as the size, force, energy, and speed requirements, that influence the selection of a press. The article describes the roles of automatic handling equipment that can be categorized as feeding equipment, unloading equipment, and transfer equipment. It concludes with information on the common types of high-production presses, such as dieing machines, multiple-slide machines, transfer presses, fine blanking presses, and flexible-die forming presses.

Rapid prototyping (RP) techniques in the sheet-metal forming industry is developed to quickly test the form and fit of new sheet-metal products on a prototype basis as well as for production runs characterized by small lot sizes. This article provides an overview of some of the technologies used for RP and low-volume production of sheet-metal parts. It discusses low-cost tooling and flexible sheet-forming processes and reviews the various aspects of incremental sheet forming.

This article discusses the installation of the most commonly used force-monitoring devices, namely, load cells and piezoelectric force sensors. It describes the purpose and operation of commonly used displacement sensors, such as linear variable differential transformers, proximity sensors, photoelectric sensors, and ultrasonic sensors. The article provides information on the sensors used for detecting tool breakages and flaws in parts, the measurement of material flow during sheet metal forming, and lubrication. It also describes the operating stages of machine vision systems used for automated quality-control purposes. The theory of eddy-current-based material properties evaluation is also discussed.

This article provides an overview of the interfacial interactions with a lubricant film between a die and a metal, lubricant mechanisms, chemistry, qualification testing, application methods, and property test methods. It focuses on sheet metal-forming operations, although the discussions are relevant to metal-forming operations in general. The article also deals with lubricant selection as influenced by the metal to be formed and particular sheet-metal forming operations. The article also discusses some aspects of microbiology and toxicity in lubricants.

This article introduces process factors that influence die wear and lubrication for metal forming operations such as bending, spinning, stretching, deep drawing, and ironing. It discusses the effects of part shape, sheet thickness, tolerance requirements, sheet metal, and lubrication on shallow forming dies. The article describes the wear of material for dies to draw round and square cup-shaped metal parts in a press. It also discusses the effect of process conditions on the shallow forming dies.

This article describes grade designations of the various sheet steels used for draw forming. It discusses the specifications associated with most sheet draw forming materials. The article examines the behavior of stress- and strain-based forming limit curve (FLC). It provides a discussion on three separate frictional conditions acting in a draw die. The frictional conditions include the metal passing through a draw bead, the metal clamped in the binder, and the metal sliding across a die radius. The article also explains the basic steps in the vehicle development process. The steps involved in the thought process of direct engineering for formability are also explained. The article places considerable emphasis on the need for the designer to clearly define the die/tooling faces in the computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) system before the data are passed on to the construction functions.

Simulation programs are becoming more effective tools in reducing the need for physical testing and the avoidance of costly downstream problems by solving the problems upfront in the early development stage. This article provides a brief review of the history and applied analysis of simple forming operations. It focuses on metal stamping simulation based on the finite-element methods or model (FEM) with emphasis on software tools using the three-dimensional FEM technology. The article discusses two aspects of particular importance in finite-element analysis of sheet forming and springback analysis: the type of solution algorithm/governing equation and the type of element. The article provides information on various models for material yield criteria.

Sheet metal forming operations are so diverse in type, extent, and rate that no single test provides an accurate indication of the formability of a material in all situations. This article presents an overview of types of forming, formability problems, and principal methods of measuring deformation. It reviews the effect of materials properties and temperature on formability. The article provides a detailed discussion on the two major categories of formability tests such as the intrinsic test, including uniaxial tension testing, plane-strain tension testing, biaxial stretch testing, and simulative tests such as bending tests, stretching tests, the Ohio State University test, the drawing test, and stretch-drawing tests. It extends the correlation between simulative tests and materials properties using forming limit diagrams and circle grid analysis, and discusses the improvements to the forming limit diagram technology.