Metal Stamping Operation

Methods Development and Technology Transfer

Metal stamping operations are simulated to minimize the amount of material used in the cross member. The results of interest include the final shape of the cross member, material thickness distribution, plastic strains, and contact pressures. These data help designers optimize parts, minimize cost, predict problems of tearing or cracking during forming, and minimize wear of the die.

Design challenges are many and include drawbead placement, die and punch wear, formability of the design, and durability of the formed design. SIMULIA has worked with many customers to help optimize the forming process and the performance of the formed part.

In the example shown here, the simulation was performed with Abaqus/Explicit, which is ideally suited for metal forming analyses. The punch and die were modeled as rigid surfaces, and the sheet metal blank was modeled as a deformable body with a representative material stress-strain curve (both elastic and inelastic portions of the curve). Springback was not a concern in this simulation but could have been analyzed by importing the Abaqus/Explicit results into Abaqus/Standard.