Design and Test of a Reconfigurable Forming Die

Reconfigurable tooling is an attractive prospect for aerospace sheet metal forming because many different part shapes must be produced in small numbers. This paper describes the design and test of a particular type of “discrete-die” reconfigurable tool. The discrete-die concept involves using the ends of densely packed rod-shaped elements as the working surface of the die. The rod-shaped elements are reconfigured manually or automatically to change the shape of the die. Numerous mechanical schemes can be employed to move the elements: this paper describes the use of a shaft-driven lead screw concept. The input shaft turns continuously, and each pin's position is controlled by the engagement of an individual clutch. The required design parameters were developed using a combination of theory and experiment, and a laboratory-scale working prototype device was built and tested. The design parameters included an evaluation of the suitability of open-loop pin-position control based only on time, an evaluation of the torque capacity, engagement time, and reliability of the clutches, and the development of design loads. Experience in construction of the prototype showed that the design concept was sound but that significant enhancements to the control system would be required in a full-scale device.     

Design and fabrication of a laminated thermoforming tool with enhanced features

Thermoforming is a popular manufacturing process for creating useful shapes out of heated thermoplastic sheets using a porous tool under differential pressure. For large, heavy-gauge parts, thermoforming tools are typically made by CNC machining a billet of material or sand casting from an inexpensive master pattern. Although these tooling methods are well established, it is difficult to incorporate enhanced tool functionality such as conformal cooling channels, embedded sensors, unimpeded vacuum channel placement, and customized thermal mass. Profiled Edge Laminas (PEL), a rapid tooling method based on profiling, assembling, and clamping an array of thick layers, is ideally suited for tools used for thermoforming large, heavy-gauge parts and requiring enhanced features. This paper describes how the PEL tooling method can be applied to the design and fabrication of a thermoforming tool and demonstrates the entire process through a case study. Tooling design guidelines and analytical models for predicting conformal channel and vacuum line performance are included. The ease with which multiple-zone conformal cooling/heating channels, vacuum lines, and temperature sensors are incorporated into the tool is also highlighted. Specifically, a 46-layer aluminum PEL tool clamped together with bolts is successfully designed, fabricated, and demonstrated for thermoforming a 0.3×0.4×0.4 m part made from a PVC/Acrylic blend based on the outlined method. The tool incorporates three independent cooling zones sealed by a polymer sealant, three embedded temperature sensors, and an elaborate matrix of vacuum channels. All tool features and the basic geometry were machined into each individual lamina in the same set-up by 2D abrasive waterjet machining, and the final tool surface was CNC-machined. The PEL tooling method is successfully applied to the manufacture of a large, heavy-gauge thermoformed part intended for production.     

Warm forming die design,part I: Experimental validation of a novel thermal finite element modeling code

Finite element analysis (FEA) has become an invaluable tool in the design of sheet metal stamping dies and processes. FEA has gained widespread acceptance as the best method of optimizing dies for conventional stamping processes. More recently, FEA has been shown to be an effective method of designing tooling for sheet forming processes. In this work, an FEA based approach is applied to the warm stamping (warm forming) process. This work introduces a new thermal finite element analysis software called PASSAGE®/Forming (PASSAGE) that enables the up-front design of the thermal management of warm forming dies. This thermal finite element analysis software is designed to specifically handle the forming and optimization scenarios related to the heating of a stamping die while minimizing user interface time. In this work, PASSAGE has been applied to a simple block of steel embedded with cartridge heaters to validate the prediction capability of this software under two different heating conditions. The results show that PASSAGE is capable of predicting the actual steady-state temperature distribution within the block with an acceptable level of accuracy while yielding notable information to the user with respect to specifying power requirements. A finite element software package like PASSAGE is a valuable tool that will aid greatly in the implementation of warm forming as a manufacturing process beyond the scope of the laboratory and into production.     

板材成形新技术及其发展趋势(Ⅰ)

近些年来,面对全球化的竞争,越来越需要小批量、多样化、周期短的新的成形技术.薄板成形技术在成形工艺中占有很重要的地位,其多样化趋势已经变得越来越明显,出现了多种加工方法,它对将来的工业结构和产品的生产技术将是一场革命.文中介绍了变压边力技术、成对液压成形技术、粘介质成形技术、无模分层成形技术等几种柔性化程度高的板材成形技术及其发展趋势.     

Environmental aspects of laser-based and conventional tool and die manufacturing

Solid Freeform Fabrication (SFF) technologies such as Direct Metal Deposition (DMD) have made it possible to eliminate environmentally polluting supply chain activities in the tooling industry and to repair and remanufacture valuable tools and dies. In this article, we investigate three case studies to reveal the extent to which DMD-based manufacturing of molds and dies can currently achieve reduced environmental emissions and energy consumption relative to conventional manufacturing pathways. It is shown that DMD's greatest opportunity to reduce the environmental impact of tool and die manufacturing will come from its ability to enable remanufacturing. Laser-based remanufacturing of tooling is shown to reduce cost and environmental impact simultaneously, especially as the scale of the tool increases.     

楔横轧模具的铣削加工及其机床设计

根据楔横轧模具孔型及其加工成形的特点,对楔横轧模具大面积大螺距楔形提出了一种简单高效的铣削加工方法,并设计制造了楔横轧轧辊模具孔型加工专用机床——SDM机床。新设计的SDM机床投资小,可以加工直径为φ620 mm～φ1000mm的轧辊模具,加工导程最大可达469 mm,加工周期短,成本低,且大大降低了工人劳动强度。     

有限元分析技术中的断裂判断

有限元法分析技术在高精密冲压行业中已经广泛应用。它具有分析材料流动 ,应变 ,应力及冲压负载的功能。通过有限元法分析可减少试模次数 ,从而降低消耗 ,缩短模具设计时间。但在有些情况下 ,它并不能准确的告诉我们在冲压过程中何时产生断裂。阐述了几则断裂判据以及它们的特点和在有限元分析技术中的应用     

一个开放式冲裁模CAD系统原始平台

根据某专业厂冲模设计制作的实际情况,通用CAD平台的发展状态,模具设计的规律,提出并实现了一个开放式冲裁模CAD系统原始平台。     

三销齿轮高速冷镦挤工艺及模具设计

分析了摩托车变速器三销齿轮的成形工艺。采用了高速令镦挤成形工艺，可提高三销齿轮的质量、减少机械加工及降低产品成本。对三销齿轮成形工艺和模具设计作了详细探讨。     

An Analytical Prediction of Flange Wrinkling in Sheet Metal Forming

Wrinkling is one of the major defects in sheet metal forming. The ability to accurately predict the occurrence of wrinkling is critical to the design of tooling and processing parameters. An analytical approach for predicting the onset of flange wrinkling is presented. This method is based on the wrinkling criterion proposed by Cao and Boyce for predicting the buckling behavior of sheet metal under normal constraint. Using a combination of energy conservation and plastic bending theory, the analysis provides the critical buckling stress and wavelength as functions of normal pressure. The results are in excellent agreement with those obtained from Cao and Boyce's numerical approach, and also match well with the experimental results of a square cup forming. In addition, the effects of material properties on the wrinkling behavior are also discussed. The analytical method significantly reduces computational time and is suitable for direct engineering application.     

振动试验扩展台的设计与动力学分析

目的验证碗型工装和板型工装结构在动力学试验方面的优劣。方法由于导弹舱段进行振动、冲击、加速度等动力学试验时,不能直接安装在台面结构上,需要设计和优化工装进行固定安装。针对某弹体舱段试验用的工装进行结构设计,并通过有限元仿真分析得出前六阶模态的频率和振型方式,判别碗型和板型两种结构设计方式的优劣。同时,对设计工装的结构进行优化,得出加强筋对模态参数的影响。结果质量相同的碗型工装的各阶频率均高于板型工装,加强筋的优化方式对于碗型工装结构的前三阶模态频率提升25%左右。结论碗型的工装结构形式能够有效地传递力学信号,保证信号传递的均匀性,加强筋结构可以有效地增强工装结构的动力学性能。     

后扣板冷挤压工艺及模具

此文分析了产品成形的特点,模具承载的负荷特点,从而在成形工艺上、润滑上、模具结构及选材上采取了相应的措施.用H-4水基高分子润滑剂和3Cr2W8V制作冷挤压模都取得了明显效果.     

初始排放权分配对各省区碳交易策略及其减排成本的影响分析

碳排放权分配是我国碳交易机制设计的根本性问题之一.然而,不同初始分配方案对我国碳减排和宏观经济的影响尚不明确,成为制约碳交易市场快速发展的重要因素.本文以我国"十三五"时期碳排放强度下降目标为约束构建非线性规划模型,模拟了"祖父分配方案"、"支付能力方案"和"人口规模方案"3种初始排放权分配方案对各省区碳交易策略及其减排成本的影响.结果表明,碳交易市场能有效降低我国实现碳排放强度下降目标的经济成本,但在不同初始排放权分配方案下省区间的碳减排成本差异有所不同.与"支付能力方案"和"人口规模方案"相比,"祖父分配方案"下省区间碳减排成本差异较小,更能体现碳排放权分配的公平性.以公平为导向的初始排放权分配和以效率为导向的碳排放权交易相结合,有助于我国提升碳排放权配置效率、降低减排成本,促进省区间碳交易市场均衡发展.     

Springback control of sheet metal air bending process

Press brake bending is a commonly used process for sheet metal part fabrication. It has been observed that the final bend angle, which is the angle achieved upon removal of the punch, is smaller than the initial bend angle. This springback is due to the elastic recovery of the sheet metal. Various theoretical models have been proposed to predict the springback using the tooling geometry and the known properties of the sheet metal. However, in a production environment, the actual properties of any given workpiece may vary from the nominal properties of the lot. This variation causes the actual springback to deviate from the theoretical predictions. This paper presents a practical incremental bending methodology to control punch displacement to achieve more accurate final bend angles. In the proposed approach, workpiece properties are estimated from measured loaded and unloaded bend angles. The estimated properties are used to determine the final punch position required to obtain the desired bend angle after springback. A series of bending experiments was performed. It was found that the proposed method can better predict springback and effectively control the bend angle variation in a production environment.     

直齿圆柱齿轮精锻过程的三维刚塑性有限元模拟

对空心直齿圆柱齿轮的精锻成形过程进行三维刚塑性有限元模拟。通过有限元模拟分析 ,深入揭示直齿圆柱齿轮精锻过程的金属流动规律和变形力学特征 ,对直齿圆柱齿轮精锻工艺和模具设计具有重要的指导意义     

Resistance mash welding for joining of copper conductors for electric motors

The automotive industry is developing designs and manufacturing processes for a new generation of electric motors intended for use in hybrid and electric vehicles. This paper is focused on using solid-state welding to join rectangular wires in the fabrication of motor stators. Resistance welding has not typically been applied to copper due to its very high electrical conductivity; however through optimization of the current and pressure profiles, excellent quality copper-to-copper joints have been demonstrated with a technique known as resistance mash welding. A better understanding of resistance mash welding characteristics will help advancements in its application for stators. The limitations of this application will be discussed.     

Analytical prediction of stepped feature generation in multi-pass single point incremental forming

Single point incremental forming (SPIF) is a new sheet metal forming process characterized by higher formability, product independent tooling and greater process flexibility. The inability of conventional single pass SPIF to form vertical walls without failure is overcome by forming multiple intermediate shapes before forming the final component, i.e., multi-pass single point incremental forming (MSPIF). A major issue with MSPIF is significant geometric inaccuracy of the formed component, due to the generation of stepped features on the base. This work proposes analytical formulations that are shown to accurately and quantitatively predict the stepped feature formation in MSPIF. Additionally, a relationship is derived among the material constants used in these analytical equations, the yield stress and thickness of the blank material, such that the computational effort required for the calibration of these constants can be minimized. Finally, the physical effects of yield stress and sheet thickness on the rigid body translation are further discussed.     

硬铝合金薄壁杯形件成形工艺与模具

此文介绍了硬铝合金薄壁杯形件成形工艺与模具设计的方法,分析了硬铝合金塑性差给冷挤压成形带来了困难的特点,从成形工艺、模具设计等方面采取了有效措施,从而较好地解决了硬铝合金在成形过程中产生的缺陷.此文也为类似零件艺及模具设计提供了参考.     

厚壁管双向扩口镦粗成形工艺及模具

文中介绍了一种用于厚壁管双向扩口镦粗成形的工艺及模具。它由两道工序完成 ,即先将管坯两端同时扩口 ,再将两端台阶同时镦粗成形。模具结构采用了带外锥的分瓣式凹模及带内锥的浮动凹模套 ,解决了工件上、下两台阶同时扩口或镦粗成形及卸料问题 ,并提高了零件的尺寸精度和同轴度     

250摩托车变档轮挤压工艺与模具

介绍了250摩托车变档轮挤压工艺与模具,该模具结构具有节省贵重模具材料、易于加工、更换方便的特点,可供类似挤压模设计参考.