Understanding The Effects Of Oil Canning in Stamping Simulations

What Is Oil Canning?

Oil canning, a common inherent trait of flat sheet material, is a moderately visible deformation. This is can usually be seen as a ripple or buckle along with the broad flat areas of the material. Oil canning is an aesthetic complaint and does not have any effect on the integrity and strength of the material.

What Causes Oil Canning?

The causes of oil canning include Manufacturing factors, such as stresses on the material, misalignment, improper handling, and poor design.

Oil canning usually occurs when it is not considered in the design process. Being able to identify oil canning in the design process is crucial to preventing it in the final product. Stamping Simulation has the knowledge to identify potential oil canning and has the tools to fix oil canning in the design before it is produced.

What Are The Implications Of Oil Canning?

Examples of the poor fitment of sheet metal parts, that contain an oil canning type defect.

One of the implications of the oil canning effect is the fit of the defective part (which contains oil canning) to its mating part. Trying to attach a bent surface to another part usually causes an issue. The gap oil canning creates is unsuitable for production as it could allow exposure to the internals of the product, from the outside. The gaps also mean that materials do not fit together properly and can result in dimensional inaccuracy, leaks, and make the manufacturing of the product a lot harder; things may not fit together correctly and the product life may be compromised.

This can be due to the gaps enabling dust and water into the product, where dust and water should not go.

As mentioned before, the oil canning effect is aesthetically unappealing to the eye. It creates the idea that the strength of the metal is compromised, and the manufacturer did not value the visible outcome of the design. While oil canning does not actually have any effect on the integrity of the material, at a glance, oil canning creates a negative reaction and is not an appealing visual property of the metal sheet.

How Stamping Simulation Prevents Oil Canning in Sheet Metal Parts

In sheet metal oil canning, these causes can be avoided by stretching the material uniformly, something Stamping Simulation takes into account based on the type of product. An external skin panel, such as the outside shell of a car, is important to have no visible oil canning on the surface of the sheet metal. The main goal of sheet metal stamping is to produce a defect-free product and when the simulation is used in conjunction with experienced engineering knowledge, a buckle free sheet metal part can be produced.

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