Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
of strain in the stamping are more than 10% below the FLC, the dies are considered
"green," or safe. Many companies require this type of analysis, proving that the new
stamping dies are capable of producing a part with strain levels in the "green" zone of the
FLD, before buying off on the dies (Ref 83). When new dies cause levels of strain
between 0 and 10% below the FLC, this is considered a "yellow" zone, where caution
requires further development of either the dies themselves, the drawbeads, or other
process conditions including lubrication. Any strain readings that exceed the FLC
indicate a "red" condition, where the likelihood of failure is high if the dies are not
modified prior to being used for production.
The material used in die tryout should have typical, or slightly lower, forming properties
than the production material. The use of superior material may indicate an adequate
forming safety margin that will disappear when a more typical or lower formabilitv
material is used. It is good practice to form a few gridded blanks of a standard (nonaging)
reference material periodically during a production run to determine the trends in the
maximum strains. If the strains are approaching the maximum limits, corrective
measures can be taken before any actual failures occur.
A none exhaustive list of industrial applications of the FLD includes (Ref 84):
Circle Grids. Many types of circle grid patterns have been used, such us square arrays
of contacting or closely spaced noncontacting circles and arrays of overlapping circles.
The contacting and overlapping circles provide improved coverage but are more difficult
to measure manually. With small, closely spaced circles, it is possible to determine strain
gradients accurately, provided the circles are not too small for accurate measurement.
Circles with 2.5 mm (0.1 in.) diameters have been found to be a good size, Both open
and solid circles have been used successfully, and automatic systems have been
developed for measuring both types.
Applying Circle Grids to the Blanks. The circle grids can be applied to the blanks by a
printing or photographic technique or by electro-chemical etching. Printed and
photographically applied circles are easily damaged, and tend to rub off in areas
contacted by the dies. This has led to general acceptance of etched circles.
In the electrochemical etching process, an electric stencil with the required grid pattern is
placed on the blank and covered with a felt pad soaked in an etching solution. An
electrode is placed on the pad, and low-voltage (up to 14 V ) current is passed between
the electrode and the blank for a short time, usually less than 1 min. This produces a
lightly etched and oxidized pattern on the surface of the blank. The stencils, etching
solutions, and power supplies for this process are commercially available. Different
metals require different solutions, levels and types of voltage, and etching times.
Measuring Strains from Deformed Circles. Deformed circles can be measured
manually by means of dividers and a ruler, graduated transparent tapes, or a low-power
microscope with a graduated stage. Automatic systems, known as grid circle analyzers,
have also been developed for measuring the dimensions of the circles and calculating
and displaying the major and minor strains (Ref 85-87).
In regions of high curvature, the most accurate method of measurement is use of the
transparent tape because it follows the contour of the part and measures the arc length,
while the other methods measure the chord length. The tapes have a pair of diverging
lines graduated lo give direct readings of the strain, as shown in Fig 32.
Grid circle analyzers use a solid-state digital array camera with a built-in light source, a
minicomputer, keyboard, cathode-ray tube (CRT) display, and printer. An image of a
given deformed circle is displayed on the CRT, and a least squares curve fitting program
selects the most suitable ellipse, which is displayed simultaneously. The major and minor
strains, computed from the equation for the ellipse and the diameter of the original circle,
are displayed on the screen and printed. A typical layout for the equipment is show it in
Fig. 33.
Drawbead forces
It is common practice in production stamping operations to control the movement of the
edges of the blank into the die cavity by means of drawbeads placed in the blankholder.
These consist of a semicylindrical ridge in the upper part of the blankholder and a
corresponding groove with rounded shoulders in the lower part, or a similar but opposite
configuration. The drawbeads cause the periphery of the blank to bend and straighten
three times as it passes through each bead, as shown in Fig. 34.
The repeated bending and straightening produces a restraining force in addition to that
caused by surface friction. A method has been devised for measuring the restraining
force due to deformation, independently of the effects of friction, using a drawbead
simulator with low-friction rollers instead of a fixed bead and groove (Ref 88, 89). A
second drawbead simulator with nonrotating parts can be used to measure the combined
effects of friction and deformation. Figure 35 shows both types of simulators.
Strips of 0.75 to l.00 mm (0.03 to 0.04 in.) thick and 50 mm (1.97 in.) wide rimmed and
aluminum-killed steels and two aluminum alloys were tested using simulators and a
universal testing machine. The contribution from deformation to the total restraining force
depended on the lubricant used and ranged from an average of 60% with poor
lubrication to 85% with very good lubrication. The required clamping forces, surface
strains in the workpiece at various locations in the drawbead simulators, effect of
drawbead radius, and effect of rate of testing were also investigated.
Fig. 31. Strain measurement and forming limit diagrams for aluminum-killed steel. Source:
Ref 76
Fig. 35. Drawbead simulators. (a) frictionless simulator, (b) standard simulator. Source:
Ref 83.