Simple parts benefit from simulation

StampingSimulation.com’s Pay As You Go simulation services allow any tooling company of any size to benefit from world class AutoForm sheet metal forming simulation software and even the seemingly simple parts benefit too.

Die Engineering Pty Ltd, Brisbane was recently commissioned to manufacture a forming die for a simple 1.6mm stainless steel product.

The process involved a developed cut, through which a forming punch would extrude material to produce a flange. While the process was relatively simple, calculating the correct cutting shape and pad pressure, was best determined with simulation.

[Click here to view the complete Die Engineering case study – Adobe Acrobat required]

The traditional method is to calculate pressures manually and develop the cutting profile via trial and error on the shop floor. However, simulation quickly and more accurately determines these variables, based on a 3D simulation of the metal forming process. The simulated result is equivalent to building the tooling and testing it, but the real benefit is the ability to make adjustments to any tooling inputs to correctly determine important metal forming parameters.

The simulation found that the springs were inadequate and that the proposed hole shape needed adjusting. It was possible to redesign the spring size, strength and quantity to match the simulation results and change the locator shape to suit the new inner hole shape. These changes were made during tool design phase, before the tool was built, saving large amounts of time and cost on the shop floor.

Would you like to be featured in a StampingSimulation.com case study?