A Concurrent Engineering Approach to Integrate Forming Effects into Structural Design and Analysis of Stamped Parts

A concurrent engineering approach to integrate forming analysis by METALFORM and stress analysis by NASTRAN has been proposed and demonstrated on a practical structure. Including the forming effects of thinning and residual stress improves correlation with actual behavior of structures when performing a finite element stress analysis. In addition a simplified structural optimization process was formulated by including both structural functional requirements, such as stiffness and crush strength, and manufacturing constraints of split and springback. Results obtained from applying this simplified optimization process to two-dimensional rail-type components show that a rectangular cross section is the optimal shape in terms of minimum mass while satisfying both structural functional requirements and manufacturing constraints.