Design of die geometry for metal sheet forming in virtual manufacturing

This paper proposes an integrated system of design and production for metal sheet forming in virtual manufacturing. In this system, the designer is ab le to define an analysis procedure for the design process using a parameter ized evaluation function and examine the production results based on these design strategies in virtual space by means of CAD/CAE. In this paper, it i s pointed out that the gap between simulation and experiments and actual pr oduction must be taken into account whenever these kinds of product innovat ions enable us to obtain quick response and results for candidate design st rategies in computer simulations Significance: The integration between CAD and CAE systems for metal sheet f orming processes is performed by means of the Geometry Generator originally developed by the authors for the die design. In the CAD system, the Geomet ry Generator is used for the creation of the die using visualization in com puter space. Conversely, in the CAE system, FEM and the improvement of the metal sheet forming utilize the Geometry Generator to perform the analysis. Based on sheet forming properties, we propose the concept of wrapping for the creation of die geometry. This wrapping technique consists of defining the position of isolated points in a 3-D space, which generates the 3-D sha pe by wrapping it with a surface that touches those points. The input and o utput information in the CAD/CAE system generates sufficient die geometry u sing the feedback design cycle and production interaction. The final output of the geometry generator enables the designer to obtain useful informatio n about the first stage die geometry of the sheet forming process and the f inal product features by manufacturing in computer space.