Experimental and Analytical Investigation of the Ceep Drawing Process for producing Pentacle Cups

Abstract

Sheet metal forming is a critical process in modern manufacturing, used to create both finished and semi-finished products. In this industry, there is an increasing demand for fast and cost-effective manufacturing and modification of dies. Therefore, improving theoretical and experimental engineering approaches to reduce manufacturing costs and lead-time between design and production is essential. The development of numerical methods has made Finite Element Analysis (FEA) a valuable tool for predicting product deformation. This study used three forming methods to create a pentacle cup from a low-carbon steel sheet (1008-AISI) with a thickness of 0.7 mm and a diameter of 80 mm. ANSYS Workbench 3-D modeling software was utilized to simulate the drawing procedures. The resulting product's wall thickness and strain were measured and graphed to demonstrate the impact of the different forming methods. The first method involved direct formation by drawing a circular blank metal into a pentacle shape. The second method involved redrawing a cylindrical cup into a pentagonal cup, while the third method entailed converting a pentagonal cup into a pentacle cup. The results showed that the second forming method produced the highest maximum punch load reaching approximately 42.24 kN in experimental testing and 36.66 kN in Finite Element Modeling (FEM), exceeding that of the third forming method. The maximum thinning at cup curvature was observed in the pentacle cup created by the second method, particularly in the major and minor areas, and was more pronounced than in the pentacle cups produced by the third forming method. Ultimately, the third forming method was identified as the optimal technique for producing a pentacle cup with less thinning at the cup curvature and a more uniform distribution of thickness and strain. Overall, this study highlights the importance of advancements in theoretical and experimental engineering approaches to reduce manufacturing costs and improve the efficiency of the sheet metal forming process. The findings from this study can lead to the development of optimal forming techniques for creating high-quality products.