Design of Strip Bridge for Unsymmetrical Progressive Stamping for an Automotive Seat Side Cushion Pane

Abstract

For mass production of stamped parts, which require complicated in-press operations, it is always advisable to use a progressive die set. It is difficult to choose a progressive die set if the stamped parts need to be deep drawn and especially if they are unsymmetrical. Because unsymmetrical deep drawing parts are very sensitive to the effect of weight during moving to the next step, they are hard to exactly locate on the die face. An automotive seat side cushion panel is about 80mm high, unsymmetrical and its low edge needs hemming, so it is hard to produce even using a progressive die set. In the current paper a progressive stamping for seat side cushion panel was examined. Five strip bridges were considered to be strong enough to move to the next die as predicted by the CAE analysis.