Blank Design for A Sheet Metal Product Based on Direct Design Method and FEM Analysis J.W.

Yoona, S.K. Kima, K. Chungb J.R Younb and E.J. Yeonc LG Production Engineering Research Center, 19-1 Cheongho-Ri, Jinwuy-Myun, PyungtaekCity, Kyungki-Do, 451-713, Korea. b School of Material Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 56-1 Shinlim-Dong, Kwanak-Gu, Seoul, 151-742, Korea. c VCR OBU, LG Electronics, 19-1 Cheongho-Ri, Jinwuy-Myun, PyungtaekCity, Kyungki-Do, 451-713, Korea.
a

Abstract The ideal forming theory was previously developed as a direct design method to guide iterative design practices by optimizing initial blank shapes in the sheet metal forming process. In this work, the sequential design method based on the ideal forming theory and FEM analysis was applied to optimize a practical die design procedure for sheet metal forming. In particular, the design method was applied to optimize the forming process of complicated sheet metal part (VCR deck chassis) which is difficult to fabricate without good lubricant. In this sequential method, the ideal forming theory was used to obtain an initial optimum blank shape which complies with the minimum plastic work path condition. Based on the solution of the ideal forming theory, the FEM analysis was iteratively utilized to further optimize the blank shape by taking account the realistic process condition under the non-lubrication state. The experiment showed that the optimum banks obtained from the sequential design method can form the final parts without lubrication, confirming that the proposed sequential design procedure based on the direct design method and FEM analysis can be successfully applied to optimize the practical die design procedure of sheet metal forming processes. Keywords: Direct design method, Ideal forming, Optimum blank design, FEM analysis 1. Introduction In order to improve conventional trial-and-error based practices for optimizing forming processes, a direct design method, called the ideal forming theory, has been previously developed [1 - 4]. In this theory, materials are prescribed to deform following the proportional true strain path (or the minimum plastic work path for isotropic materials) and the initial blank shape is obtained from a

one-step backward calculation in which the final sheet product shape is specified. The theory can be used to determine the ideal initial blank shape needed to best achieve a specified final shape while resulting in optimum strain distributions. Because of its assumed deformation path, the result of the theory does not completely comply with real forming so that it is used to guide the iterative design procedure based on analytic methods. The blank design procedure based on the ideal forming theory and the iterative applications of the FEM analysis was shown to be effective [5, 6]. In this sequential design method, as shown in Fig.1, the optimum blank shape obtained from the direct design method can be effectively used as good initial guess for incremental analysis codes in order to significantly save computational and experimental trials in the die design stage. In order to demonstrate the practical used of the sequential method, the method was applied to design an optimum blank of a complicated VCR deck chassis in this work. Experiments were also carried out using the optimum blank shape developed from the sequential method to confirm the validity of the method. The automatic strain measurement system (ASAME)[7] was also used to measure the formability of the formed part.

Direct Design FEM Code

Incremental Analysis Code

Experimental Trials Fig.1 Sequential procedure utilizing the direct design method 2. Theory When materials are discretized with meshes and the surface traction is approximated by point forces, the plastic work is a function of the initial position vectors X and the final position vectors x: Fig. 2 Target final shape(VCR deck chassis) to be formed

W = W[ e ( x i =1, 2, 3 , X i=1, 2 )].

(1)

In Equation 1, the value of the effective strain e is dependent on the deformation paths of material elements and so is the plastic work. In the ideal forming theory, the minimum plastic work path is imposed for each material. The minimum plastic work path is equivalent to the proportional true strain path, whose principal directions are restricted to be aligned with specific material directions for anisotropic materials. However, in the design code, the principal directions are allowed to be arbitrary. When the proportional true strain path is imposed, the effective strain in Equation 1, obtained from the effective strain-rate by substituting the rate of deformation & with the true strain tensor , becomes a function of x and X. In fact, the effective tensor strain is obtained from the flow theory by applying the deformation theory based on the minimum plastic work path[8, 9]. When the final sheet product shape is prescribed, the final configuration is specified so that the plastic work in Equation 1 is a function of X only. Furthermore, the initial sheet surface on which the initial blank resides is specified in advance. The blank shape is obtained by optimizing the plastic work [3];i.e.,

( e )

e dVo = b i i = 1 and 2 X i

(2)

where e is the effective stress, Vo is the material volume and bi is the component of a kind of force vector related to the external force vector. After the initial blank cutout is obtained from Equation 2, the optimum strain distribution and intermediate shapes of a sheet during forming as well as nodal force history are obtained under the minimum plastic work path assumption. 3. Results and Discussions Fig.2 shows the VCR deck chassis on which a VCR head drum is located. The product requires precise dimensional accuracy for height and slope in order to prevent the distortion of the head drum when it is placed on the chassis. The process to fabricate this product was newly changed from die-casting to press forming because of productivity and cost competitiveness. But, when press forming is employed to make the product, tearing problem is the most difficult obstacle to overcome because of the severe stretching of this product during the forming process. Fig.3 shows a schematic diagram to design the optimum blank shape using the direct design method and incremental FEM analysis code. In the figure, the optimum blank shape is predicted by the direct design method, when the final target shape and initial thickness are specified. Then, FEM analysis was performed based on the optimum blank to account for the detailed process

Direct Design Method Final Target Shape (Optimum blank design)

Analysis Code (Forming Analysis)

Fig. 3 Sequential design procedure using the direct design method and FEM analysis

< Blank shape obtained by experimentally before modification >

< Blank shape optimized by the sequential design method >

Fig.4 Initial blank shapes before and after modifications conditions, including non-proportional true strain paths, during sheet forming. Fig. 4 shows two initial blank shapes: a blank previously obtained from 14 times experimental trials and a blank obtained from seqiential design method. The differences were marked in the figure. In the present work, the ABAQUS Explicit code [10] was used for the process analysis. In order to describe no lubricant condition in this process, 0.2 was used for the Coulomb friction coefficient. In Fig.4, the ideal blank shape obtained from the sequential design method is supposed to best achieve a specified final shape while resulting in optimum strain distributions. In order to verify

< Blank optimized experimentally >

< Blank optimized by sequential design method>

Maximum thickness strain : 0.39

1.2 1 0.8 Major strain Major strain 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.6 FLD (fracture) FLD (instability) Original (without lubrication) 1

Maximum thickness strain : 0.19

FLD(instability) FLD(fracture) Final modification

0.8

0.4

0.2

-0.4

-0.2

0 0.2 Minor strain

0.4

0.6

0 -0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0 Minor strain

0.2

0.4

0.6

Fig.5 Comparison of forming limit diagrams between before and after modifications

Fig.6 FLD measured by ASAME for the part formed from the modified blank the optimum blank, incremental analysis code was introduced to perform forming analysis. Fig.5 shows FEM analysis results obtained for the blank experimentally optimized and the blank optimized, respectively. As shown in the figure, the result obtained from the blank modified using

the sequential design method is in the safe region of FLD and the minimum thickness strain is improved about 50 % compared to that obtained from the blank experimentally optimized. Finally, real forming was performed using the optimum blank shape obtained from the sequential design method to verify the better performance. Fig. 6 shows FLD measured by the automatic strain measurement system (ASAME). It is shown that the simulation and experimental results are compatible in Fig.5 and Fig.6, confirming the significantly improved performance of the new blank. The optimum blank shape has been successfully feed-backed to the mass production line. LG Electronics produces 5 million pieces of deck chassises per year using the optimum blank shape. 4. Conclusions Practical application of the sequential design method involving the direct design method was introduced to design the optimum blank shape of VCR deck chassis when the final target shape, initial thickness and martial properties are specified. Experimental verification showed that the new blank optimized using the direct design method and the sequential use of the FEM analysis significantly better preformed than that previously optimized only experimentally. Therefore, it was confirmed that the new design method based on the direct design method and FEM analysis can be useful for the practical blank design procedure. References [1] K. Chung & O. Richmond, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 34 (1992) 575-591. [2] K. Chung & O. Richmond, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 34 (1992) 617-633. [3] K. Chung, J.W. Yoon and O. Richmond, Int. J. of Plasticity 16 (2000) 595-610. [4] J.W. Yoon, K. Chung, O. Richmond and F. Barlat, Proceedings of Plasticity2000 (Eds. A.S. Khan et al.), Neat Press, 2000, p.267. [5] K. Chung, F. Barlat, J.C. Brem, D.J. Lege & O. Richmond, Int. J. Mech. Sci. 39 (1997) 105120. [6] S.H. Park, J.W. Yoon, D.Y. Yang and Y.H. Kim, Int. J. of Mech. Sci. 41, (1999) 1217-1232. [7] CamSys Inc., ASAME reference manual, Ver. 3.8, 1995. [8] K. Chung & O. Richmond, Int. J. of Plasticity 9 (1993) 907-920. [9] J.W.Yoon, D.Y. Yang and K. Chung, Comp. Methods in Appl. Mech. & Eng. 174 (1999) 23-56. [10] HKS Inc., ABAQUS/ Exaplicit manual, Ver. 5.8, 1998.

Figure List Fig.1 Sequential procedure utilizing the direct design method Fig.2 Target final shape(VCR deck chassis) to be formed Fig.3 Sequential design procedure using the direct design method and FEM analysis Fig.4 Initial blank shapes before and after modifications Fig.5 Comparison of forming limit diagrams between before and after modifications Fig.6 FLD measured by ASAME for the part formed from the modified blank

Direct Design FEM Code

Incremental Analysis Code

Experimental Trials

Fig.1 Sequential procedure utilizing the direct design method

Fig. 2 Target final shape(VCR deck chassis) to be formed

Direct Design Method Final Target Shape (Optimum blank design)

Analysis Code (Forming Analysis)

Fig. 3 Sequential design procedure using the direct design method and FEM analysis

< Blank shape obtained by experimentally before modification >

< Blank shape optimized by the sequential design method >

Fig.4 Initial blank shapes before and after modifications

< Blank optimized experimentally >

< Blank optimized by sequential design method>

Maximum thickness strain : 0.39

1.2 1 0.8 Major strain Major strain 0.6 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.6 FLD (fracture) FLD (instability) Original (without lubrication) 1

Maximum thickness strain : 0.19

FLD(instability) FLD(fracture) Final modification

0.8

0.4

0.2

-0.4

-0.2

0 0.2 Minor strain

0.4

0.6

0 -0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0 Minor strain

0.2

0.4

0.6

Fig.5 Comparison of forming limit diagrams between before and after modifications

Fig.6 FLD measured by ASAME for the part formed from the modified blank