Abstract
In order to invstigate the influence of die design variables on the quality of the sheared surface in cutting of sandwich sheet metals, the cut-off operation is carried out, which is the typical shearing process in sheet metal forming technology. For experiments we made the cut-off die which can be easily adjusted for die design variables such as blankholding force, pad force and clearance. The sandwich sheet metals considered are clad304(STS304-Al1050-STS304) and anti-vibration sheet metal. The shearing process is visualized by the computer vision system installed in front of the cut-off die and the sheared surface is measured and quantitatively compared with the help of the optical microscope after cut-off operation. From test results it is shown that the shearing mechanisms are different according the material of which sandwitch sheet metal is composed. The influence of die design variable is explored and we found optimal conditions for both sandwich sheet metals. It is expected that this investigation can be utilized to get the better sheared surface.