Sheet metal forming simulation closing the design loop

O. Ghouati, X. Chen (Ford Forschungszentrum Aachen) Forming simulation has now reached an acceptable level of accuracy. It is now possible to predict the hardening, the thinning and required forces for sheet metal stamped parts. It is also possible to predict the geometrical defects such as springback, wrinkling and surface appearance problems. Sheet metal forming can therefore be used in a closed loop to help design parts and required tools to achieve a pre-defined geometry and mechanical performance. The paper presents different possibilities to include sheet metal forming simulation in a closed loop design and optimization process. These possibilities are FEM based materials identification, springback compensation, die and part optimization and finally the coupled part and process optimization. Before describing these different possibilities, an example illustrating the level of accuracy that can be achieved using sheet metal forming simulation is shown.