Practical methods for the design of sheet formed components

Commercial methods for the mechanical design of part and die shapes often rely on trial-and-error methods applied to either experiments or simulation, as guided by intuition. Academic alternatives based on optimization techniques have had slow acceptance because they require programming access to finite element analysis programs. Two practical design methods were developed for use in conjunction with standard finite element software. The first of these produces a part shape that will exhibit a specified contact area and pressure when in contact with a deformable body. The second procedure produces die shape compensated for springback, to form a specified target part shape. The simplicity and effectiveness of these techniques were illustrated by a case study for the design of a contact heating device. The methods were shown to be robust and efficient, and an automated procedure was implemented to illustrate their practicality for a production environment. Use of these techniques can substantially reduce the cost and lead time required to produce optimal sheet-formed parts while improving performance. Extensions to other design criteria and situations can be envisioned.