MODELING, FORMING, AND MODAL ANALYSIS OF SHEET METAL PARTS USING CAE

TOOLS

Andy O. Fox, Raghu Echempati, Ph.D., P.E.

Kettering University
Mechanical Engineering
Flint, Michigan, USA

ABSTRACT
CAE tools can be used to study the characteristics and reduce the cost of sheet metal parts that are used in
products. Using an instrument panel that is used in a car as an example which is made up of sheet metal components
the basic process of analyzing the components and assembly to optimize its design is discussed. The paper is mostly
educational in the sense that the integrated procedures and analysis presented here can be adapted in a senior level
course and at a university that has state-of-the-art CAE tools as discussed in this paper. Several tutorials have been
developed that are user-friendly and show how the subsequent analysis can be conducted. To the best of the
knowledge of the authors, no such tutorials exist, or are available to students at a university.
To start out, solid modeling of the individual sheet metal components using different CAD programs is discussed.
Then a discussion on how these solid models can be imported to different CAE programs to be meshed and then
subsequently exported to high end solvers like LS-Dyna or MSC Nastran is presented. The integrated analysis that
was conducted for this paper was forming analysis of the individual components, followed by modal analysis and
gauge optimization of the entire instrument panel assembly. Also, a design of experiments based on Taguchi method
is discussed which was done to determine the effects that the input factors have on the results of the forming
simulations that were conducted. DOE studies were performed on a couple different components and the results are
briefly discussed. It is believed that the contents of this paper serve as an educational tool to the students and the
instructors involved in understanding and/or teaching sheet metal forming simulation. Sample tutorials will be
presented at the conference meeting.

INTRODUCTION
CAE tools can be used for many different purposes in engineering to make better products. A situation where
CAE tools would become useful is for the analysis of an IP (Instrument Panel) assembly. The solid models of the
components of the assembly can easily be created using a software program like Unigraphics or Catia. Sheet metal
forming analysis can be performed on each component of the assembly to see if each part is formable. Then modal
analysis can be performed on the assembly to determine the frequency of the first few modes. During this process
the strain energy density of the components can be determined to find areas in the assembly that can be improved to
stiffen the structure. After this a gauge optimization can be performed to minimize the mass of the structure while
using the results from the modal analysis of the entire assembly (e.g. frequency of modes) as constraints to maintain
its original performance characteristics by not allowing the frequency of the first few modes to drop below the
original frequencies of the assembly or predetermined values can also be used for the constraints.
Solid modeling of the components can easily be done using software programs like Unigraphics, Catia, or
SolidWorks. They make the creation of components easy with their solid modeling capabilities. To create the
models basic solid shapes can be made and then special operations like extruding faces or adding radii to corners are
used to create the components.
CAE tools can be used to study the characteristics of sheet metal parts during the manufacturing process. This
analysis saves time and money in the initial development of new products by making it easier to test new designs.
Instead of doing actual physical tests on the product to see if the design will work, the product can be analyzed on a
computer to produce the same results that would be obtained from the actual physical tests. Time is saved because
many simulations will not take nearly as long as the actual testing of many stamped parts and also money is saved
because no money will need to be spent on material (e.g. steel, dies). A DOE (Design of Experiments) can also be
performed on a sheet metal stamping process using the forming results from a CAE program like LS-Dyna or
HyperForm which can then be input into a data analysis program like the regression analysis tool in Excel. These
software programs when used for a DOE are useful when a wide variety of variables need to be tested and the
influence of the variables and their interactions need to be determined.
One purpose of CAE tools is to analyze parts or assemblies while in service. The main purpose of the IP of a car
is to support the steering wheel and it needs to be stiff enough so that the driver does not notice any significant
amount of vibration in it. One of the analyses that can be performed using CAE software is a modal analysis. For an
IP the analysis can be used to determine the frequency of vibration of the major modes of the steering wheel (e.g.
vertical and horizontal). One of the outputs that can be specified for this analysis is the strain energy density. By
looking at this for each of the modes the areas with high strain energy density can be located easily to determine
where the components should be redesigned to be made stiffer or include more welds.

SOLID MODELING
At the beginning of the design process solid models of the components can be made using a CAD software
programs like Unigraphics1,2, Catia, or SolidWorks. You can start the components with basic geometrical shapes
like rectangles, cones, and cylinders. Boolean operations can be performed on these to add and subtract the
geometry of the parts. Faces or outlines can be extruded to create more shapes. Many other operations like creating
radii and hollowing out solid geometry to create shells can be performed on the solid geometry to easily create the
solid models of the components. Figure 1 below shows a solid model of a sheet metal component that can be used in
an IP assembly that was made using Unigraphics. The main reason to use a CAD program to create the solid models
is that they are specifically made to create solid models. They usually have specific features that are designed to
make it easy to create sheet metal components. They also have the ability to create parameterized models which
makes it easy to make modifications to your designs.

FIGURE 1 – SOLID MODEL OF A BRACKET CREATED USING UNIGRAPHICS

FORMING ANALYSIS
HyperMesh is one example of a CAE software program that can be easily used to mesh geometry for a stamping
simulation and was used in this case. First the solid model geometry is imported into HyperMesh, although
HyperMesh can also be used to create its own geometry. Once this is done the midsurface of the sheet metal
components are extracted. The mesh, which contains the finite elements used in the simulation, is then created from
the midsurfaces.
The mesh can be used in different solvers. LS-Dyna and HyperForm One_Step are two examples of solvers that
can be used. Material properties and thicknesses of the actual components are assigned to the mesh. Loads,
constraints, prescribed motion and other information are assigned to the FEM (Finite Element Model) and the
simulation is run. One of the assumptions for the forming analysis is that the power law of plasticity is valid for the
forming of the 3D parts.
Two software program used to do stamping simulations were LS-Dyna3 and HyperForm One_Step4. The analysis
in HyperForm One_Step is much easier to setup the FEM and the simulation time is much faster as well. This is
because in HyperForm One_Step all that is needed is the final shape of the stamped part. This part is then meshed,
material properties and thicknesses are assigned to it, the stamping direction is defined, and then the simulation is
ran and solved in one step. For LS-Dyna the simulation is solved in increments and takes longer. For LS-Dyna you
need to start with the original blank shape and then deform it into the final shape by creating all of the components
that play a part in the stamping process (e.g. die, blank, binder, punch). Figure 2 shows the setup that was used in
the LS-Dyna analysis.

FIGURE 2 – Die, Blank, Binder, and Punch used in the LS-Dyna simulation

One of the outputs that is generated from HyperForm One_Step is a mesh of the original flat blank shape that would
be used to make the final shape of the part. This can be used in the FEM for the LS-Dyna simulation. One advantage
of LS-Dyna though is that the actual shape of the original blank can be used in the analysis. Therefore different
forming results can be obtained by using different blank shapes or adding things like beads to the die to create more
friction to see if there is a better way to form the final part.
One of the main results in a forming analysis is the percent thinning of a component after it has been formed.
Usually if a part exceeds 20% thinning it can start to split resulting in failure of the component. This is one of the
main problems in the forming of sheet metal components. A simulation can be used to determine the percent
thinning of components. The lower the percent thinning is the less likely it is that splits will form in the bracket.
Figure 3 shows the results of the percent thinning of a bracket that was analyzed using LS-Dyna and HyperForm
One_Step.
 (a) (b)

FIGURE 3 - PERCENT THINNING - (a) HyperForm One_Step, (b) LS-Dyna

Since Fig. 3 shows that both software programs predict a maximum thinning of around 17% the bracket should not
develop any splits during the stamping process. Wrinkling can also become a problem if it becomes excessive which
is shown in dark blue in Fig. 3.
Since many simulations can be performed on a stamping process in order to obtain several designs, a DOE
(design of experiments) is used in this paper to determine which factors and interactions play the most important
role in the forming process and hence effect the thinning. There were four factors of interest in the process, the yield
strength of the sheet metal, its thickness, the friction coefficient, and the tonnage of the press. A 2k factorial can be
performed easily by setting up a spreadsheet that uses factor values and the thinning (response) of each complete
trial as inputs and then the results (effects and interactions) are determined by using contrasts 5. This can also easily
be done using the regression data analysis tool in Excel. The results of the DOE can be used to find the optimum
settings of the four factors to minimize the percent thinning (the response) of one of the corners of the part which
was shown in red in Fig. 3. Table 1 shows the factor values that were used in the analysis.

Table 1 – Factor level used in the DOE Studies

Yield
Factor Thickness Tonnage
Strength Friction
Level (mm) (Tons)
(Mpa)

-1 186 0.8 0.05 20

+1 500 3.2 0.70 80

The results of the DOE experiments showed that the yield strength was insignificant and could be disregarded. It
was also found that the thickness and friction should be kept as low as possible to reduce the chance of splits
occurring. An additional study is being done on another component to determine if the factors have the same
influence on the formability of the components.

MODAL ANALYSIS
Modal analysis6 on parts and assemblies can be performed with CAE software. An instrument panel is used to
support the steering wheel in a car and needs to be stiff enough to keep its frequency of vibration high to reduce the
driver’s awareness of the vibration in the steering wheel during operation. The first two modes of an IP are shown in
Fig. 5 below along with their corresponding frequencies.
 Mode 2
42.2 Hz

Mode 1
35.3 Hz

FIGURE 5 – INSTRUMENT PANEL ASSEMBLY

The bracket shown in Fig. 3 is a part of the IP assembly and is used to connect the steering column to the IP
assembly. The forming analysis that was shown in Fig. 3 on that bracket is a separate analysis from the modal
analysis that is shown in Fig. 5. The CAD data shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 5 was obtained from a finite element model
archive on the internet7. For the instrument panel all of the components are made from sheet metal except for the
steering wheel. Therefore the entire model is made up of shell elements except for a few solid elements in the
steering wheel. Once the mesh is created the components can be connected using 1D rigid beams to simulate the
welds. Finally the constraints are applied to the attachment points which hold the IP in place. The FEM is then
exported to some solver to perform the modal analysis. HyperMesh has a built in solver that can be used called
OptiStruct that was also used. The IP shown had frequencies of the steering wheel in the range of 35-45 Hz. If the
frequency of vibration of the steering wheel falls below this range it is likely that the driver of the car will notice and
it will become uncomfortable or distracting after a while so the IP needs to be stiff enough to keep its frequency
high.
One output that can be exported during the modal analysis simulation is the strain energy density. This is an
output that identifies the components and attachment locations that are deforming the most for each mode. The
components strain energy density can be viewed for each mode shape and corresponding frequency. Components
that have a high strain energy density can be made thicker, welded together more, or redesigned to stiffen the
assembly. Viewing the plot of the strain energy density is useful in finding areas that can easily be improved that
otherwise are not easy to find to stiffen a structure. Figure 6 shows the strain energy density for one of the areas
around the steering column on the IP.

FIGURE 6 – STRAIN ENERGY DENSITY

The red areas shown in Fig. 6 have high strain energy density for the mode shown. This can be reduced by either
making the parts thicker, redesigning the components, or adding more weld around components interfaces. A longer
bead of weld was added to the bracket interface that had a high strain energy density shown in Fig. 7 to increase the
stiffness of the assembly.

ADDED WELD
FIGURE 7 – EXTRA WELD ADDED TO THE COMPONENT INTERFACE

By making the weld longer the frequency of mode 1 shown in Fig. 5 increased from 34.9 Hz to 35.3 Hz and mode 2
increased from 41.8 Hz to 42.2 Hz.

REFERENCES
[1] UG NX 5.0 Cast Library

[2] http://training.ugs.com

[3] LS-DYNA 971 User’s manual, 2007.

[4] HyperWorks User’s manual, 2007.

[5] Montgomery, Douglas C. (2005) “Design and Analysis of Experiments” – Sixth Edition, John Wiley and Sons,
INC., Hoboken, NJ. pgs. 204-254

[6] Palm III, William J. (2007) “Mechanical Vibration” John Wiley and Sons, INC., Hoboken, NJ

[7] http://www.ncac.gwu.edu (2009)