An advanced technique for determining NC machining tool path to fabricate drawing die surface considering non-uniform thickness distribution in stamped blank.

Drawing process represents a significant area of production technology since it influences the feasibility of producing auto-body die panels. In the drawing process, the plastic deformation of blank is not uniform due to the intermittent deformation behavior of the material. This primes a non-uniform thickness distribution in the formed panels, which directly affects the die life and the quality of panels. In the presented study, a new algorithm was proposed for constructing the numerical control machining tool path for the new die surface obtained from FEM simulation and mesh mapping. The commercial package LS-DYNA was employed for the FEM simulation and to calculate the thickness distribution in the drawn workpiece. In order to construct the new numerical control machining tool path according to the new die surface, the positions of all cutter location points relative to the movement of new die mesh were determined. A set of forming die was machined using the proposed algorithm to fabricate a real workpiece of steel DC04. A comparison between the measured thicknesses in the fabricated workpiece and the FEM simulation results shows that they agree with each other very well, which directly validates the proposed algorithm. The developed method can improve product quality, increase production efficiency, and reduce labor intensity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]