Low-cost metal-forming process using an elastic punch and a reconfigurable multi-pin die

Elghawail, Ali; Essa, Khamis; Abosaf, Mohamed; Tolipov, Abror; Su, Shizhong; Pham, Duc Truong

doi:10.1007/s12289-018-1423-6

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 18 publications

(29 reference statements)

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“…A general contact algorithm was used to model the interaction between the elastic cushion and the tips of the MPF tool. 1 Coulomb friction of 0.1 was used to model the contact between the elastic cushion and pins as well as the elastic cushion and sheet metal. The simulated forming forces on individual pins at different compression ratios of the elastic cushion are shown in Figure 9.…”

Section: Numerical Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multi-point forming (MPF) is a kind of flexible metal sheet forming technique with reconfigurable dies for three-dimensional (3D) surfaces with low manufacturing costs compared with solid dies in industrial applications such as aerospace, architecture and automobiles. [1][2][3] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an MPF tool. 4 This shows the pin matrices (MPF-Punch and MPF-Die), the elastic cushions and the workpiece (metal sheet) sandwiched between the elastic cushions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measurement of forces on multi-point forming tools using fibre Bragg grating sensors

Elghawail

Pham

Huang

et al. 2019

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B:

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Multi-point forming uses forces applied to a tool, comprising of multiple pins set at different heights, to form sheet metal for panelling in white goods, automotive bodywork, aircraft frames and so on. The use of multiple pins allows for rapid change over and flexibility in the tool making it suitable for small-batch and prototype component manufacture. To explore the relationship between ‘springback’ of the sheet metal on release from the tool, and the applied pin force, it is first necessary to understand and measure the forming forces. This article presents a novel method of measuring forming forces on individual pins in a multi-point forming tool using fibre Bragg grating sensors, monitoring the elastic strain on the selected pins during the forming process. The operating principles behind forming force measurements using fibre Bragg gratings are introduced and a relationship is developed between springback in the formed part after the final unloading and the forming force as measured on selected individual pins under different compression ratios (30%, 40%, 50% and 60%) of the elastic cushion between the tips of the pins and the workpiece. Experiments were performed to validate the proposed measuring method, and results indicate that forming forces detected by the proposed method correlated well with the results obtained by numerical simulation. This suggests the proposed method has good potential for real-time measurement and monitoring of forming force distribution in multi-point forming tools during the forming process.

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Section: Numerical Simulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measurement of forces on multi-point forming tools using fibre Bragg grating sensors

Elghawail

Pham

Huang

et al. 2019

Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part B:

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“…MPF has seen considerable progress with regards to its viability as a manufacturing process, as well as in the removal of defects associated with it, namely dimpling, wrinkling, and springback [ 18 ]. Several investigations have studied the effect of pin tip and shape on surface quality [ 19 , 20 , 21 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconfigurable Multipoint Forming Using Waffle-Type Elastic Cushion and Variable Loading Profile

et al. 2020

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There is an increasing demand for flexible, relatively inexpensive manufacturing techniques that can accommodate frequent changes to part design and production technologies, especially when limited batch sizes are required. Reconfigurable multi-point forming (MPF) is an advanced manufacturing technique which uses a reconfigurable die consisting of a set of moveable pins to shape sheet metal parts easily. This study investigates the use of a novel variable thickness waffle-type elastic cushion and a variable punch-loading profile to either eliminate or minimise defects associated with MPF, namely wrinkling, thickness variation, shape deviation, and dimpling. Finite element modelling (FEM), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the response surface methodology (RSM) were used to investigate the effect of process parameters pertaining to the cushion dimensions and type of loading profile on the aforementioned defects. The results of this study indicate that the most significant process parameters were maximum cushion thickness, cushion cut-out base radius, and cushion cut-out profile radius. The type of loading profile was found to be insignificant in all responses, but further investigation is required as the rate, and the thermal effects were not considered in the material modelling. Optimal process parameters were found to be a maximum cushion thickness of 3.01 mm, cushion cut-out base radius of 2.37 mm, cushion cut-out profile radius of 10 mm, and a “linear” loading profile. This yielded 0.50 mm, 0.00515 mm, 0.425 mm for peak shape deviation, thickness variation, and wrinkling, respectively.

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“…Since the RPF process consists of a flexible rubber pad and a form shaping die, the required product geometry is specified by the geometry of the die. For enhancing geometrical DoF and flexibility of the forming process, the die can either be adjusted flexibly or manufactured individually for each desired single shape, where the last option is usually correlated with high tooling costs and lead-time (Cezarina et al 2019), (Elghawail et al 2019), (Maziar Ramezani and Zaidi M. Ripin 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D printed prototyping tools for flexible sheet metal drawing

Frohn-Sörensen¹,

Geueke²,

Tuli³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Due to the change from mass production to mass personalized production and the resulting intrinsic product flexibility, the automotive industry, among others, is looking for cost-efficient and resource-saving production methods to combining global just-in-time production. In addition to geometric manufacturing flexibility, additive manufacturing offers a resource-saving application for rapid prototyping and small series in pre-development. In this study, the FDM process was utilized to manufacture the tooling to draw a small series of sheet metal parts in combination with the rubber pad forming process. Therefore, a variety of common AM polymer materials (PETG, PLA and ABS) is compared in compression tests, from which PLA is selected to be applied as sheet metal forming die. For the rubber pad forming process, relevant processing parameters, i.e. press force and rubber cushion hardness, are studied with respect to forming depth. The product batch was examined by an optical evaluation using a metrological system. The scans of the tool and sheet metal parts confirm the mechanical integrity of the additively manufactured die from polymer and thus the suitability of this approach for small series in sheet metal drawing processes, e.g. for automotive applications.

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Low-cost metal-forming process using an elastic punch and a reconfigurable multi-pin die

Cited by 10 publications

References 18 publications

Measurement of forces on multi-point forming tools using fibre Bragg grating sensors

Measurement of forces on multi-point forming tools using fibre Bragg grating sensors

Reconfigurable Multipoint Forming Using Waffle-Type Elastic Cushion and Variable Loading Profile

3D printed prototyping tools for flexible sheet metal drawing

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