Finding the Best Way to Form Automotive Sheet Metal Parts - Using Parametric Die Face Design and Optimization -

The simulation of sheet metal forming has become widely used in the automotive industry to reduce development costs and lead times in the die development process, as well as to evaluate the feasibility of part designs during product development. Many „what-if” simulations of different die geometries and different process parameters must be carried out in order to prove and optimize the formability of a given part. This paper presents a program to automatically optimize the process and geometry parameters, which results in increased efficiency and ease-of-use. Examples are presented which show the program's successful application.