• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.34 no.3
• /
• pp.299-305
• /
• 2010

In general, the flexible forming die that has been used in the flexible forming process has the identical punch size; hence, its flexibility is relatively low because the range of allowable curvature radii is limited due to the uniform punch tip radius. Hence, a conceptual design of a sectional flexible die is presented for enhancing the flexibility of the forming process. Two punches of different sizes are used to configure the arbitrary forming surface. For a forming region with a relatively large curvature radius, a large punch array block is used; on the other hand, for the forming regions with small curvature radii, a small punch block is used. The cross-sectional profiles are compared with the target shape for evaluating the effectiveness of the process. Consequently, it is confirmed that the sectional flexible die can be used along with a combination of punch blocks of different sizes for manufacturing objective surfaces of complex shapes.