Simulation of Sheet Metal Forming using a Finite Element Program as Intregrated Tool in the Car Body Development

In the car body development the design of body panels and production tools as well, can be supported effectively by the simulation of the sheet metal forming process with the Finite Element Method (FEM). This paper describes how an explicit finite element program has been applied to lay out industrial deep drawing processes, accomplished by optimization of the methodology, the integration into the development and the updating procedure for the model data and the computation process. The main part of the paper discusses the simulation results and explains the influences of the process parameters (i.e. lubrication conditions and blankholder / punch force), sheet size and the shape of reverse draw. Finally it is explained how the parameters and geometry were modified to achieve good results.