Sheet Metal Forming

Lecture 5

EMU

SHEET METALWORKING
1. 2. 3. 4. Cutting Operations Bending Operations Drawing Other Sheet Metal Forming Operations

EMU

Sheet Metalworking Defined

Cutting and forming operations performed on relatively thin sheets of metal Thickness of sheet metal = 0.4 mm (1/64in) to 6mm (1/4 in) Thickness of plate stock > 6 mm Operations usually performed as cold working

EMU

Sheet and Plate Metal Products

Sheet and plate metal parts for consumer and industrial products such as Automobiles and trucks Airplanes Railway cars and locomotives Farm and construction equipment Small and large appliances Office furniture Computers and office equipment

EMU

Advantages of Sheet Metal Parts

High strength Good dimensional accuracy Good surface finish Relatively low cost Economical mass production for large quantities

EMU

Sheet Metalworking Terminology

Punch-and-die - tooling to perform cutting, bending, and drawing Stamping press - machine tool that performs most sheet metal operations Stampings - sheet metal products

EMU

Basic Types of Sheet Metal Processes

1. Cutting Shearing to separate large sheets Blanking to cut part perimeters out of sheet metal Punching/ Piercing to make holes in sheet metal 2. Bending Straining sheet around a straight axis 3. Drawing Forming of sheet into convex or concave shapes
EMU

Shearing, Blanking, and Punching

Three principal operations in pressworking that cut sheet metal: Shearing Blanking Punching Piercing

EMU

Sheet Metal Cutting - Shearing

Shearing of sheet metal between two cutting edges: (1) just before the punch contacts work; (2) punch begins to push into work, causing plastic deformation;
EMU

Sheet Metal Cutting - Shearing

Shearing of sheet metal between two cutting edges: (3) punch compresses and penetrates into work causing a smooth cut surface; (4) fracture is initiated at the opposing cutting edges which separates the sheet.
EMU

Shearing
Sheet metal cutting operation along a straight line between two cutting edges Typically used to cut large sheets

Shearing operation: (a) side view of the shearing operation; (b) front view of power shears equipped with inclined upper cutting blade.
EMU

Shearing
Shearing is a process for cutting sheet metal to size out of a larger stock such as roll stock. Shears are used as the preliminary step in preparing stock for stamping processes, or smaller blanks for CNC presses The shearing process produces a shear edge burr, which can be minimized to less than 10% of the material thickness. The burr is a function of clearance between the punch and the die, and the sharpness of the punch and the die.
EMU

Blanking and Punching

Blanking - sheet metal cutting to separate piece (called a blank) from surrounding stock Punching - similar to blanking except cut piece is scrap, called a slug

(a) Blanking and (b) punching.

EMU

Punching and Piercing

A slug (the material punched out) is produced in punching operations but not in piercing work Piercing is forming a hole in sheet metal with a pointed punch with no metal fallout (slug). In this case, a significant burr or deformed sharp edge is created on the bottom side of the material being pierced.

PUNCHES

PIERCE

EMU

Punching
Punching is a metal fabricating process that removes a scrap slug from the metal workpiece each time a punch enters the punching die. This process leaves a hole in the metal workpiece Characteristics: Ability to produce economical holes in both strip and sheet metal during medium or high production processes. The ability to produce holes of varying shapes quickly

EMU

Punching
The punching process forces a steel punch, made of hardened steel, into and through a workpiece. The punch diameter determines the size of the hole created in the workpiece Punching is often the cheapest method for creating holes in sheet metal in medium to high production.

EMU

Punch Tools

EMU

Piercing
Piercing is the operation of cutting internal features (holes or slots) in stock, without forming slug scrap

EMU

Clearance in Sheet Metal Cutting

Distance between punch cutting edge and die cutting edge Typical values range between 6% and 15% of stock thickness If too small, fracture lines pass each other, causing double buffing and larger force If too large, metal is pinched and bent between cutting edges and excessive burr results

EMU

Clearance in Sheet Metal Cutting

Recommended clearance is calculated by: c = at where c = clearance; a = allowance; and t = stock thickness Allowance a is determined according to type of metal Low c for soft materials High c for hard materials Typical a values for metals range from 0.04 to 0.09

EMU

Punch and Die Sizes

For a round blank of diameter Db: Blanking die diameter = Db Blanking punch diameter = Db - 2c where c = clearance For a round hole of diameter Dh: Hole punch diameter = Dh Hole die diameter = Dh + 2c where c = clearance

EMU

Punch and Die Sizes

Die size determines blank size Db; Punch size determines hole size Dh.; c = clearance

EMU

Angular Clearance
Purpose: allows slug or blank to drop through die Typical values: 0.25 to 1.5 on each side

EMU

Cutting Forces
Important for determining press size (tonnage) F=StL where S = shear strength of the metal; t = stock thickness, and L = length of cut edge

EMU

Sheet Metal Bending

Straining sheetmetal around a straight axis to take a permanent bend

Bending of sheet metal

EMU

Sheet Metal Bending

Metal on inside of neutral plane is compressed, while metal on outside of neutral plane is stretched The material is stressed beyond the yield strength but below the ultimate tensile strength. The surface area of the material does not change much. Bending usually refers to deformation about one axis

EMU

Types of Sheet Metal Bending

V-bending - performed with a V-shaped die Edge bending - performed with a wiping die

EMU

V-Bending
For low production Performed on a press brake V-dies are simple and inexpensive

EMU

Edge Bending
For high production Pressure pad required Dies are more complicated and costly

EMU

Stretching during Bending

If bend radius is small relative to stock thickness, metal tends to stretch during bending Important to estimate amount of stretching, so final part length = specified dimension

EMU

Bend Allowance Formula

Ab = 2 ( R + K b at ) 360
where Ab = bend allowance; = bend angle; R= bend radius; t = stock thickness; and Kba is factor to estimate stretching If R < 2t, Kba = 0.33 If R 2t, Kba = 0.50

EMU

Springback
Increase in included angle of bent part relative to included angle of forming tool after tool is removed Reason for springback: When bending pressure is removed, elastic energy remains in bent part, causing it to recover partially toward its original shape

EMU

Springback

Springback in bending is seen as a decrease in bend angle and an increase in bend radius: (1) during bending, the work is forced to take radius Rb and included angle b' of the bending tool, (2) after punch is removed, the work springs back to radius R and angle .
EMU

Bending Force
Maximum bending force estimated as follows:

K bf TSwt 2 F D
where F = bending force; TS = tensile strength of sheet metal; w = part width in direction of bend axis; and t = stock thickness. For V- bending, Kbf = 1.33; for edge bending, Kbf = 0.33; D is opening width of a V-die or wiping die

EMU

Die Opening Dimension

Die opening dimension D: (a) V-die, (b) wiping die.

EMU

Drawing
Sheet metal forming to make cup-shaped, box-shaped, or other complex-curved, hollow-shaped parts Sheet metal blank is positioned over die cavity and then punch pushes metal into opening Products: beverage cans, ammunition shells, automobile body panels Also known as deep drawing (to distinguish it from wire and bar drawing)

EMU

Drawing

(a) Drawing of cup-shaped part: (1) before punch contacts work, (2) near end of stroke; (b) workpart: (1) starting blank, (2) drawn part.
EMU

Clearance in Drawing
Sides of punch and die separated by a clearance c given by: c = 1.1 t where t = stock thickness In other words, clearance is about 10% greater than stock thickness

EMU

Stretch Forming
Sheet metal is stretched and simultaneously bent to achieve shape change

Stretch forming: (1) start of process; (2) form die is pressed into the work with force Fdie, causing it to be stretched and bent over the form. F = stretching force.
EMU

Force Required in Stretch Forming

F LtYf
where F = stretching force; L = length of sheet in direction perpendicular to stretching; t = instantaneous stock thickness; and Yf = flow stress of work metal Die force Fdie can be determined by balancing vertical force components

EMU

Roll Bending
Large metal sheets and plates are formed into curved sections using rolls

EMU

Spinning
Metal forming process in which an axially symmetric part is gradually shaped over a rotating mandrel using a rounded tool or roller Three types: 1. Conventional spinning 2. Shear spinning 3. Tube spinning

EMU

Conventional Spinning

Conventional spinning: (1) setup at start of process; (2) during spinning; and (3) completion of process.
EMU

Shear Spinning
A sheet-metal-forming process which forms parts with rotational symmetry over a mandrel with the use of a roller in which deformation is carried out with a roller in such a manner that the diameter of the original blank does not change but the thickness of the part decreases by an amount dependent on the mandrel angle.

EMU

Tube Spinning
Tube spinning is recognized as an effective process for producing large thin-wall cylindrical workpieces In tube spinning, where the tubular blank rotates with the mandrel whilst the roller undergoes axial feeding movement, the thickness reduces and the length increases. The roller touches the parts of the tubular blank, and the plastic area is only in the region of the part around the contact zone, so that the deformation is restrained strongly by the surrounding metal.
EMU