A SYSTEM TO AUTOMATE DESIGN OF PROGRESSIVE DIES FOR 2D METAL STAMPINGS

Abstract

Progressive die design is an important component of tool engineering. A progressive die combines two or more types of dies into a single tool in an attempt to perform as many operations as possible in a stroke of the press. Products made from the use of progressive dies can be found in almost all modern household appliances, office and computer equipment, car components, radio and television sets, clocks and other mass-produced goods. Modern CAD/CAM technology has contributed significantly in improving the quality and accuracy of tool designs making the manufacture of precision parts possible. A review of the academic and institutional research efforts in the field of CAD/CAM for progressive dies shows that many of the systems are only able to improve the productivity of the designer by automating the procedural tasks after operational plans have been decided. In most cases, the die designer is required to plan the die operations manually and input the plan into the computer system using interactive graphical tools. The system developed is an attempt to automate a number of the design tasks such as strip layout and staging with the eventual generation of the die model. To ensure that the scope of the project can be completed with an Master of Engineering course of study, it was decided to restrict the system capability to the manufacturing of 2D progressive dies only. It uses an integrated approach consisting of a solid modelling platform with a knowledge-based engine as part of the design automation. The current system is able to recognise a number of standard shapes and allow input of design rules in the knowledge-base. It is believed that the system design provides a conceptual framework for using basic knowledge-based representation and techniques to build an intelligent die design system.