Lecture 2 Sheet-metal forming processes

Sheet-Metal Characteristics:
Cutting of sheet metal is accomplished by a shearing action with characteristic features
as in Figure. Rollover: At the top of the cut surface occurred due to plastic deformation
caused by depression made of the punch prior to cutting. Burnish is a relatively smooth
region occurred due to penetration of the punch into the work before fracture began.
Fractured zone: relatively rough surface of the cut edge occurred due to continued
downward movement of the punch. Finally, burr, a sharp corner on the edge caused by
elongation of the metal during final separation of the two pieces.

Classification of Sheet Metalworking Processes:

Shearing, Bending, and Drawing
First: Shearing:
The three most important operations in press working that cut metal by the shearing
mechanism just described are shearing, blanking, and punching.
Shearing is a sheet metal cutting operation along a straight line between two cutting
edges by means of a power shear.
Blanking and punching: involve cutting the sheet metal along a closed outline. If the
part that is cut out is the desired product, the operation is called blanking and the product
is called blank. If the remaining stock is the desired part, the operation is called
punching. For example producing a washer:

Engineering analysis:
Cutting of sheet metal is done by a shearing action between two sharp edges. The
shearing action is shown below and it is described in the four stop-actions,
1. Upper cutting edge (the punch) sweeps down.
2. Punch begins to push into the work, plastic deformation occurs.
3. Punch moves downward, penetration occurs in 1/3 stock thickness.
4. At the end, fracture is initiated in the work at the two cutting edges.
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Clearance:
Clearance c is the distance between the punch and die. The correct clearance depends
on sheet-metal type and thickness t: c= a * t
where: (a) is the allowance (a = 0.075 for steels and 0.060 for aluminum alloys); and (t)
stock thickness, mm. If the clearance is not set correctly, either an excessive force or an
oversized burr can occur:

Effect of clearance: (Left) clearance too small causes less than optimal fracture and
excessive forces, and (Right) clearance too large causes oversized burr
In punching die diameter is enlarged with clearance (c). In blanking, the punch
diameter is decreased to account for clearance. D is the nominal size of the final product.
An angular clearance must be provided for the die hole to allow parts to drop through it:

Cutting forces:
In all shearing operations is determined by: F=S t L
where S is the shear strength of material; t = stock thickness, mm, L is the length of the
cut edge. For approximate solutions, S=0.7 UTS (ultimate tensile stress)
Second: Bending of Sheet and Plate:
Bending is the straining of the sheet metal around a straight edge. During bending, the
metal on the inside of the neutral plane is compressed, while on the outside of the neutral
plane is stretched.

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 Bending operations involve the processes of V-bending bending along a straight line
between a V-shape punch and die, edge bending: bending of the cantilever part of the
sheet around the die edge.
Bend Allowance: BA
This is the stretching length that occurs during bending. It must be accounted to
determine the length of the blank, Lb= ∑L+∑BA

where Lb is the length of the blank, L are the lengths of the straight parts of the blank, BA
is the bend allowance,

where A is the bend angle; t is the sheet thickness; R is the bend radius; Kba is a factor.
Springback:
Spring back is the elastic recovery leading to increasing of the included angle when the
bending pressure is removed.

To compensate for spring back two methods are commonly used: Over bending--the
punch angle and radius are smaller than the final ones. Bottoming-queezing the part at the
end of the stroke.

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Bending forces:
The maximum bending force F is estimated as

where Kbf is the constant that depends on the process, Kbf = 1.33 for V-bending and Kbf =
0.33 for edge bending; w is the width of bending, mm; TS = tensile strength of the sheet
metal, MPa; t = stock thickness, mm, D is the die opening dimension as shown:

Third: Deep-Drawing:
It is a sheet-metal operation to make hollow-shaped parts from a sheet blank:

Clearance:
Clearance c is the distance between the punch and die and is about 10% greater than the
stock thickness: C= 1.1 t
Engineering Analysis of Drawing:
First of the measures of the severity of a deep drawing operation is the drawing ratio (DR).
For cylindrical shape defined as the ratio of blank diameter Db to punch diameter Dp.
In equation form,

The drawing ratio provides an indication, the greater the ratio, the more severe the
operation. An approximate upper limit on the drawing ratio is a value of 2.0.
Another way to characterize a given drawing operation is by the reduction r, (second
measure) where

Consistent with the previous limit on DR ≤ 2.0, the value of reduction r should be less
than 0.50

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 A third measure in deep drawing is the thickness-to-diameter ratio t/Db (thickness of
the starting blank t divided by the blank diameter Db). Often expressed as a percentage, it
is desirable for the t/Db ratio to be greater than 1%. As t/Db decreases, tendency for
wrinkling increases.
Drawing force:

Holding force: The holding force is usually about one-third the drawing force.
The improper application of the holding force can cause severe defects in the drawn parts
such as (a) flange wrinkling or (b) wall wrinkling if the holding force is too small, and (c)
tearing if the folding force is overestimated.

Stretch Forming:
In stretch forming the sheet metal is stretched and bent to achieve the desired shape:

Stretch forming: (1) start of the process; (2) form die is pressed into the work causing it
to stretched and bent over the form. Symbols: v - velocity, Fdie - applied force.
 Advantages: small cost of tooling, large parts
 Limitations: simple shapes
 Area of application: small-quantity production
Formability of Sheet Metals:
The formability of a material is the ability of the sheet metal to undergo the desired
shape change without such failure as necking or tearing. Or the ability of a sheet to be
drawn into cups or other desired shapes. It depends upon several factors such as yield
strength, strain hardening and ductility which are temperature dependent.
Test methods for Formability of Sheet Metals:
To determine the formability of the sheet metal by following tests: ductility, dent
tester, tensile test and cupping
1. Ductility:
Good ductility tests are in great demand for thin sheet forming such as in deep
drawing and stretch forming to determine of the forming limit curve, from which
designers can drive limit strains which should not be exceeded during forming processes.

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 2. Tensile test:
It is most basic mechanical test for sheet metal forming, relatively simple and
inexpensive. It also follows established standards to ensure uniformity of application and
results suitable for comparison. Simply put a standardized sample in tensile test apparatus
and pull it along a single axis until it fails. To determine the material’s elongation, tensile
strength, yield strength, and the range of engineering stress and strain.

3. Cupping:
Sheet metal specimen is clamped between two circular flat dies, and a steel ball or
round punch is pushed hydraulically into the sheet metal until a crack begins to appear on
the stretched specimen. Formability is directly proportional to punch depth “d”. This test
is insufficient in simulating exact conditions of actual sheet metal operations.

4. Dented test:
The dent tester is an important part of the steel producers formability testing. Its
primary function is testing for dent resistance. A punch applies forces up to 500 kg, speed
up to 2540 mm/seconds and a punch travels of 50 mm. A large work area of 3 m by 3 m
enables the dent tester to accommodate full size automotive panels or sheet for testing.

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