An Approach to Automate Concept Generation of Sheet Metal Parts Based on Manufacturing Operations

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Patel ◽  
Matthew I. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Sheet Metal ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Metal Parts ◽  
Sheet Metal Parts ◽  
Manufacturing Operations ◽  
Rectangular Patch ◽  
Modeling Software ◽  
Metal Design ◽  
New Perspective

This paper describes an approach to automate the design for sheet metal parts that are not only novel and manufacturable but also satisfies multiple objective functions such as material cost and manufacturability. Unlike commercial software tools such as Pro/SHEETMETAL which aids the user in finalizing and determining the sequence of manufacturing operations for a specified component, our approach starts with spatial constraints in order to create the component geometries and helps the designer design. While there is an enormous set of parts that can feasibly be generated with sheet metal, it is difficult to define this space systematically. To solve this problem, we currently have 88 design rules that have been developed for four basic sheet metal operations: slitting, notching, shearing, and bending. A recipe of the operations for a final optimal design is then presented to the manufacturing engineers thus saving them time and cost. The technique revealed in this paper represents candidate solutions as a graph of nodes and arcs where each node is a rectangular patch of sheet metal, and modifications are progressively made to the sheet to maintain the parts manufacturability. They are presented in the form of Standard Tessellation Language files (.stl) that can be transferred into available modeling software for further analysis. The overall purpose of this research is to provide creative designs to the designer granting him/her a new perspective and to check all the solutions for manufacturability in the early stage of design process. An example sheet metal design problem is shown in this paper with some of the preliminary designs that our approach created.

An Approach to Automate and Optimize Concept Generation of Sheet Metal Parts by Topological and Parametric Decoupling

2010 ◽  
Vol 132 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay Patel ◽  
Matthew I. Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Sheet Metal ◽  
Optimization Technique ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Graph Grammar ◽  
Topological Optimization ◽  
Concept Generation ◽  
Metal Parts ◽  
Sheet Metal Parts ◽  
Rectangular Patch ◽  
Engineering Design Problems

This paper describes an approach to automate the design for sheet metal parts that satisfy multiple objective functions such as material cost and manufacturability. Unlike commercial software tools such as PRO/SHEETMETAL, which aids the user in finalizing and determining the sequence of manufacturing operations for a specified component, our approach starts with spatial constraints in order to create the component geometries and helps the designer design. While there is an infinite set of parts that can feasibly be generated with sheet metal, it is difficult to define this space systematically. To solve this problem, we have created 108 design rules that have been developed for five basic sheet metal operations: slitting, notching, shearing, bending, and punching. A recipe of the operations for a final optimal design is then presented to the manufacturing engineers thus saving them time and cost. The technique revealed in this paper represents candidate solutions as a graph of nodes and arcs where each node is a rectangular patch of sheet metal, and modifications are progressively made to the sheet to maintain the parts manufacturability. This paper also discusses a new topological optimization technique to solve graph-based engineering design problems by decoupling parameters and topology changes. This paper presents topological and parametric tune and prune ((TP)2) as a topology optimization method that has been developed specifically for domains representable by a graph grammar schema. The method is stochastic and incorporates distinct phases for modifying the topologies and modifying parameters stored within topologies. Thus far, with abovementioned sheet metal problem, (TP)2 had proven better than genetic algorithm in terms of the quality of solutions and time taken to acquire them.

Deformable Sheet Metal Fixturing: Principles, Algorithms, and Simulations

1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. Cai ◽  
S. J. Hu ◽  
J. X. Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Sheet Metal ◽  
Rigid Bodies ◽  
Fixture Design ◽  
Total Deformation ◽  
Element Analysis ◽  
Metal Parts ◽  
Sheet Metal Parts ◽  
Manufacturing Operations ◽  
Nonlinear Programming Methods ◽  
Simulation Package

Fixture design is an important consideration in all manufacturing operations. Central to this design is selecting and positioning the locating points. While substantial literature exists in this area, most of it is for prismatic or solid workpieces. This paper deals with sheet metal fixture design. An “N-2-1” locating principle has been proposed and verified to be valid for deformable sheet metal parts as compared to the widely accepted “3-2-1” principle for rigid bodies. Based on the “N-2-1” principle algorithms for optimal fixture design are presented using finite element analysis and nonlinear programming methods to find the best “N” locating points such that total deformation of the deformable sheet metal is minimized. A simulation package called OFixDesign is introduced and numerical examples are presented to validate the “N-2-1” principle and optimal sheet metal fixture design approach.

Use of Shell Elements for the FEM-Simulation of the Welding Process of Sheet Metal Parts

2005 ◽  
Vol 6-8 ◽  
pp. 209-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael F. Zäh ◽  
L. Papadakis ◽  
Sven Roeren ◽  
T. Hornfeck
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Field ◽  
Sheet Metal ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Welding Process ◽  
Transient Temperature ◽  
Work Piece ◽  
Cooling Process ◽  
Metal Parts ◽  
Sheet Metal Parts ◽  
Transient Temperature Field

During the joining process of complex body components in the automobile industry, dimensional accuracy is essential. In order to predict the behavior and to improve the geometrical quality of joined sheet metal parts during the welding and cooling process, a simulation method by means of finite elements is applied. This should be done in the early stage of the product’s life cycle to reduce process adjustments, which are time and money consuming. In recent years the simulation of welding was basically feasible by models consisting of volume elements. This way the metallurgical phase transformation, which is responsible for the behavior of the treated parts during the cooling process, can be established for a specific material. The use of volumes has a negative influence on the calculation time and it is not applicable for sheet metals. Especially, if effects from previous forming processes are to be considered. Additionally, the application of shells can meet the requirements of an analysis of the effects of welding when the metallurgical material properties are taken into account. In this paper an example of a sheet metal (DC04, former St 14) will be examined with the aid of a finite element analysis. Firstly, a transient temperature field is calculated in a thermal simulation by applying a certain method. In this calculation only the thermal properties of the material are used. Secondly, the transient temperature field is used as the initial load for the thermo-mechanical analysis. The distortion and the residual stresses of the work piece can be calculated using thermo-mechanical properties and material phase transformations.

A Knowledge-Based System for Manufacturability Assessment of Deep Drawn Sheet Metal Parts

2011 ◽  
Vol 473 ◽  
pp. 749-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Naranje ◽  
Shailendra Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Sheet Metal ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Metal Parts ◽  
Knowledge Based System ◽  
Sheet Metal Parts ◽  
Manufacturing Operations ◽  
Knowledge Based ◽  
Sources Of Knowledge ◽  
Geometrical Features ◽  
System Output

In this paper a knowledge based system (KBS) for checking manufacturability of deep drawn sheet metal parts is described. For the development of proposed system technical knowledge acquired from different sources of knowledge acquisition is framed in the form of production rules of ‘IF-THEN’ variety and then coded using AutoLISP language. For consultation, the user loads the system into the prompt area of AutoCAD. The proposed system generates friendly prompt eliciting from the user for data pertaining to the job at hand. The system output includes recommendations on suitability of geometrical features of the part for required manufacturing operations. The system is flexible and its knowledge base can be extended and modified as old manufacturing facilities are discarded or newer ones are acquired in a particular enterprise. Effectiveness of the proposed system is demonstrated by taking an example of an industrial sheet metal part. The low cost of implementation of proposed system makes it affordable for small and medium scale sheet metal industries.

Early Stage Geometrical Deviation Optimization – An Automotive Example for Sheet Metal Parts

2011 ◽  
Vol 104 ◽  
pp. 95-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Bohn ◽  
Philipp Steinle ◽  
Fabian Wuttke
Keyword(s):  
Sheet Metal ◽  
Automotive Industry ◽  
Deep Drawing ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Drawing Process ◽  
New Materials ◽  
Deep Drawing Process ◽  
Metal Parts ◽  
Sheet Metal Parts ◽  
Optimization Methodology

The recent emphasis on car styling caused tolerance requirements for sheet metal parts in the automotive industry to increase. In addition, the new materials (steel and alloy) have a different deviation behavior around the springback after the deep-drawing process. In the early design phases a product can be optimized to fulfill tight tolerance specifications. This work shows the simulation background and the resulting optimization methodology.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Blanking for Thin Sheet Metal Parts

2001 ◽  
Vol 4 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 319-333
Author(s):  
Vincent Lemiale ◽  
Philippe Picart ◽  
Sébastien Meunier
Keyword(s):  
Numerical Analysis ◽  
Sheet Metal ◽  
Thin Sheet ◽  
Metal Parts ◽  
Sheet Metal Parts ◽  
Thin Sheet Metal
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