Web-based metal forming advisory system for the finite element analysis of sheet metal bending

Abstract

In the metal stamping industry, one of the major problems is getting the sheet metal to conform exactly to the shape of the die. Because of the effects of springback, die designs are usually finalized only after the fabrication and testing of multiple prototypes. The design of a die for a given part may undergo many iterations in the debugging stage before a satisfactory geometry is obtained. In order to reduce time spent on such manual corrections of the die, a parametric study is conducted on how the inclusion of a step in the die may reduce springback. The results provide a better understanding of how certain die parameters affect springback. In addition, a Web-based advisory system is developed to enable a user to study bending of sheet metal using finite element analysis. Through the system, the user may conduct simulations on line, retrieve results or search for die configurations from a database of numerical results that have been computed earlier. The intricate details of finite element analysis, such as mesh generation and refinement, or the finite element software itself, remain transparent to the user, who may not be a specialist in this field.