• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.19 no.8
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• pp.486-493
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• 2010

A shape error of the sheet metal product made by a flexible stretch forming process is occurred by a various forming parameters. A die used in the flexible stretch forming is composed of a punch array to obtain the various objective surfaces using only one die. But gaps between the punches induce the shape error and the defect such as a scratch. Forming parameters of the punch size and the elastic pad to prevent the surface defect must be considered in the flexible die design process. In this study, tendency analysis of shape error according to the forming parameters in the flexible stretch process is conducted using a finite element method. Three forming parameters, which are the punch size, the objective curvature radius and the elastic pad thickness, are considered. Finite element modeling using the punch height calculation algorithm and the evaluation method of the shape error, which is a representative value for the formability of formed surface, are proposed. Consequently, the shape error is in proportion to the punch size and is out of proportion to the objective curvature radius and the elastic pad thickness.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.124-131
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• 2011

A flexible stretch forming process is useful for small quantity batch production because various shape changes of the flexible die can be achieved conveniently. In this study, the design variables, namely, the punch size, curvature radius and elastic pad thickness, were quantitatively evaluated to understand their influence on sheet formability using statistical methods such as the correlation and regression analyses. Forming simulations were designed and conducted by a three-way factorial design to obtain numerical values of a shape error. Linear relationships between the design variables and the shape error resulted from the Pearson correlation analysis. Subsequently, a regression analysis was also conducted between the design variables and the shape error. A regression equation was derived and used in the flexible die design stage to estimate the shape error.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.21 no.7
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• pp.432-440
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• 2012

In this article, the design of the flexible forming process considering die shape compensation using an iterative over-bending method based on numerical simulation was conducted. In this method, the springback shape obtained from the final step of the first forming simulation is compared with the desired objective shape, and a shape error is calculated as a vector norm with three-dimensional coordinates. The error vector is inversely added to the objective surface to compensate both the upper and lower flexible die configurations. The flexible die shapes are recalculated and the punch arrays are adjusted according to the over-bent forming surface. These iterative procedures are repeated until the shape error variation converges to a small value. In addition, experimental verification was conducted using a 2000-kN flexible forming apparatus for thick plates. Finally, the configuration of the prototype obtained from the experiment was compared with the numerical simulation results, which had springback compensation. It is confirmed that the proposed method for compensating for the forming error could be used in the design of flexible forming of thick-curved plates.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.369-375
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• 2014

Flexible roll forming allows profiles to have variable cross-sections. However, the profile may have some shape errors, such as, warping which is a major defect. The shape error is induced by geometrical deviations in both the concave zone and the convex zone. In the current study, flexible roll forming was modeled with FE simulations to analyze the shape error and the longitudinal strain distribution along the flange section over the profile. A distribution of analytically calculated longitudinal strains was used to develop relationships between the shape error and the longitudinal strain distribution as a function of the defined shape parameters for the profile. The FE simulations showed that the shape error is primarily affected by the deviations between the distribution of analytically calculated longitudinal strain and the longitudinal strain distribution of the profile. The results show that the shape error can be controlled by designing the shape parameters to control the geometrical deviations at the flange section in the transition zones.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.479-484
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• 2012

The objective of this study is to compensate the elastic recovery in the flexible forming process using the predictive models. The target shape was limited to two-dimensional shape having only one curvature radius in the longitudinal-direction. In order to predict the shape error the regression and neural network models were established based on the finite element (FE) simulations. A series of simulations were conducted considering input variables such as the elastic pad thickness, the thickness of plate, and the objective curvature radius. Then, at sampling points in the longitudinal-direction, the shape errors between formed and objective shapes could be calculated from the FE simulations as an output variable. These shape errors were expressed to a representative error value by the root mean square error (RMSE). To obtain the correct objective shape the die shape was adjusted by the closed-loop using the neural network model since the neural network model shows a higher capability of estimating the shape error than the regression model. Finally the experimental result shows that the formed shape almost agreed with the objective shape.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.282-289
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• 2020

Flexible roll forming is an advanced sheet-metal-forming process that allows the production of parts with various cross-sections. During the flexible process, material is subjected to three-dimensional deformation such as transverse bending, inhomogeneous elongations, or contraction. Because of the effects of process variables on the quality of the roll-formed products, the approaches used to investigate the roll-forming process have been largely dependent on experience and trial- and-error methods. Web-warping is one of the major shape defects encountered in flexible roll forming. In this study, an SVR model was developed to predict the web-warping during the flexible roll forming process. In the development of the SVR model, three process parameters, namely the forming-roll speed condition, leveling-roll height, and bend angle were considered as the model inputs, and the web-warping height was used as the response variable for three blank shapes; rectangular, concave, and convex shape. MATLAB software was used to train the SVR model and optimize three hyperparameters (λ, ε, and γ). To evaluate the SVR model performance, the statistical analysis was carried out based on the three indicators: the root-mean-square error, mean absolute error, and relative root-mean-square error.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.512-518
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• 2014

In this paper, the influence of part shape complexity and die type on forming accuracy in incremental sheet metal forming is presented. The part shape complexities are classified into two types, namely, of one and two-step shapes. Correspondingly, die types are classified into three types, namely, of no-, partial, and full die types. The experimental tests are performed separately on negative and positive forming methods. It is shown that for the one-step shape, there are no significant differences in forming errors between the cases of no- and full die types when the negative forming method is used. Furthermore, the full die type is better than the partial die when positive forming is used. For the two-step shape case, the full die type always exhibits better forming accuracy than the no- and partial die types, irrespective of the forming method used.

• Transactions of Materials Processing
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• v.9 no.6
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• pp.598-603
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• 2000

In order to improve trial-and-error based conventional practices for optimizing forming processes, a direct design method to guide iterative design practices, called the ideal forming theory, has been previously developed. In the theory, material elements are required to deform following the minimum Plastic work Path. The theory can be used to determine the ideal initial blank shape needed to best achieve a specified final shape while resulting in optimum strain distributions. In this work, the direct design method based on the ideal forming theory was applied to design initial design shape for VCR deck chassis. Based on the solution of the ideal forming theory, FEM analysis was utilized to evaluate an optimum blank shape to be formed without tearing. Simulation results are in good agreement with experimental data. It was shown that the proposed sequential design procedure based on direct design method and FEM can be successfully applied to optimize the die design Procedure of sheet metal forming processes.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Technology Engineers
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.800-805
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• 2013

Incremental forming of sheet metal is a modern method of forming sheet metal, where parts can be formed without the use of dedicated dies. Existing experimental configurations for incremental forming can be broadly classified into two categories, i.e., negative and positive forming. In this paper, forming qualities such as shape accuracy and surface roughness of Al 1050 material were discussed for different forming methods. The formed and the corresponding opposing surfaces were measured with a three-dimensional scanner and a surface roughness tester. It was found that in terms of shape accuracy, the best opposing surface was obtained with positive forming, whereas the worst formed surface was obtained with negative forming; furthermore, the opposing surface is always better than the formed surface, regardless of the forming method used.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
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• v.30 no.8
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• pp.815-823
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• 2013

The hot curvature forming of large aluminum plates is a process used to produce spherical liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks. In this study, we describe a method to determine the optimum shape of blanks to minimize the root gap in the forming process. The method proposed in this study was applied to a small-scale model for thick plates with a curvature of 1500 mm and thickness of 6 mm. First, the shape of the curved shells was determined as the target shape, and then a coordinate transform was used to determine the optimum blank shape, which was then iteratively modified using the results of finite element method (FEM) simulations, including heat transfer, until the shape error was minimized. Experiments in forming using Al5083 thick plate were carried out, showing that the method can determine the optimum blank shape within an allowable root gap of 0.1 mm.