Introduction

Chapter
p 17: Sheet metal processes involve plane stress
loadings and lower forces than bulk forming
Sheet-Forming
g Processes The main categories
g of sheet metal forming
g
are:
Shearing ()
Bending ()
Drawing ()

Metalforming Sheet Metalworking Defined

x

Thin sheets of metal

Thickness
Thi k off sheet
h t metal
t l = 0.4
0 4 mm (1/64 iin)) tto 6
mm (1/4 in)
Thickness of plate stock > 6 mm

Usually cold working

Sheet and Plate Metal Products Shearing Operations

Sheet and plate metal parts for consumer Shearing () - mechanical cutting of
and industrial products such as material without the formation of chips or the
Automobiles and trucks use of burning or melting
Airplanes B th cutting
Both tti blblades
d are straight
t i ht
Railway cars and locomotives
Curved blades mayy be used to p
produce
F
Farm andd construction
t ti equipment
i t
Small and large appliances
different shapes
Office furniture Blanking ( )
()
Computers and office equipment Piercing ()
You d
Y dontt h
have tto make
k th
these products
d t ffrom Notching ()
blocks. Trimming ()

Shearing Operations
Figure 17-1 (Left) Simple blanking with a
Fracture and tearing begin at the weakest punch and die.

point and proceed progressively or

intermittently to the next-weakest location
Results in a rough and ragged edge
Punch and die must have proper alignment
and clearance Figure 17-2 (Right) (Top) Conventionally sheared
surface showingg the distinct regions
g of deformation
and fracture and (bottom) magnified view of the
Sheared edges can be produced that require sheared edge. (Courtesy of Feintool Equipment
Corp., Cincinnati, OH.)
no further finishing
Punch-die alignment and clearance
 Types of Shearing
Figure 17-3 (Right) Method of obtaining
a smooth edgeg in shearing
g by
y using
ga
shaped pressure plate to put the metal
into localized compression and a punch Simple shearing-
and opposing punch descending in
unison.
unison sheets of metal are
sheared along a Figure 17-5 Method of smooth shearing a rod by
straight line putting it into compression during shearing
shearing.

Slitting ()-
l
lengthwise
th i shearing
h i
Figure 17-4 Fineblanked surface of the
same component as shown in Figure 17-2. process that is used to
(C t
(Courtesy off Feintool
F i t l Equipment
E i t Corp.,
C
Cincinnati, OH.) cut coils of sheet metal
into several rolls of
narrower width Figure 17-6 A 3-m (10ft) power shear for 6.5 mm
(1/4-in.) steel. (Courtesy of Cincinnati
Incorporated, Cincinnati, OH.)

Piercing and Blanking Punch and Die Sizes

Blanking (, ) - the piece being punched
p
out becomes the workpiece
Piercing () - the remaining strip is the
workpiece
p

Die size determines

blank size Db;
punch size
determines hole
Figure 17-8 (Above) (Left to Right) Piercing, size Dh.; c =
lancing, and blanking precede the forming of the
Figure 17-7 Schematic showing the
final ashtray. The small round holes assist
clearance
difference between piercing and
positioning and alignment.
blanking.
(Source:Groover 2005)
(Source:Groover,
Types of Piercing and Blanking Tools and Dies for Piercing and
Blanking
x

Lancing- piercing operation that forms either Basic components: punch,

die,, and stripper
pp p plate
a line cut or hole Punches and dies should
Perforating-
g ppiercing
g a large
g number of be pproperly
p y aligned
g
uniform clearance
closely spaced holes

Punches are normally made

N t hi
Notching- removes segments t from
f along
l the
th from low-distortion or air-
edge of an existing product hardenable tool steel
Figure 17-11 The basic components of piercing
Cutoff- to separate a stamping or other and blanking dies.

product
d t from
f a strip
t i off stock
t k

Blanking Operations Blanking Operations

Figure
g 17-13 ((Below)) Typical
yp die set
having two alignment guideposts.
(Courtesy of Danly IEM, Cleveland,
OH.)
Figure
g 17-12 Blankingg
with a square-faced punch
(left) and one containing
angular shear (right). Note
the difference in maximum
force and contact stroke.
The total work (the are
under the curve) is the
same for both processes. Figure 17-14 (Above) A piercing and
blanking setup using self-contained
subpress tool units. (Courtesy of Strippit
Division Houdaille Industries
Division, Industries, Inc
Inc.,
Akron, NY.)
Progressive Die Sets Design Example
x

Progressive die sets- two or

more sets of ppunches and
dies mounted in tandem
Transfer dies move
individual parts from
operation to operation
within
ithi a single
i l press
Compound dies combine
processes sequentially
ti ll Figure 17-16 Progressive piercing and blanking
during a single stroke of the die for making a square washer. Note that the
punches are of different length.
ram Figure 17-18
17 18 Method for making a simple washer in a compound piercing and blanking diedie.
Part is blanked (a) and subsequently pierced (b) in the same stroke. The blanking punch
contains the die for piercing.

Design for Piercing and Blanking Bending

Design rules Bending is the plastic

deformation of metals about
Diameters of pierced holes should not be less a linear axis with little or no
than the thickness of the metal (D > t) change in the surface area
Minimum distance between holes or the edge of Forming multiple bends are
Forming-
the stock should be at least equal to the metal made with a single die
thickness (d > t) Drawing and stretching-
stretching
axes of deformation are not
The width of any projection or slot should be at linear or are not
least 1 times the metal thickness (w > t) i d
independent
d t
Figure 17-19 (Top) Nature of a bend in sheet metal
Keep tolerances as large as possible Springback is the showing tension on the outside and compression on
unbending
unbending that occurs the inside.
inside (Bottom) The upper portion of the bend
Arrange the pattern of parts on the strip to after a metal has been region, viewed from the side, shows how the center

minimize scrap deformed

portion will thin more than the edges.
Angle Bending (Bar Folder and Press Bar Folder
Brake)
Bar folders make angle bends up to 150 degrees in
sheet metal
Press brakes make bends in heavier sheets or more
complex
l bbends
d iin thi
thin material
t i l
x

Figure 17-22 Press brake dies can form a variety of angles and contours. (Courtesy of Figure 17-20 Phantom section of a bar folder, showing position and operation of
Cincinnati Incorporated, Cincinnati, OH.) internal components. (Courtesy of Niagara Machine and Tool Works, Buffalo, N.Y.)

Press Brake
x
Design for Bending

Several factors are important in specifying a bending

p
operation
Determine the smallest bend radius that can be formed without
cracking the metal
Metal ductility
Thickness of material

Figure
g 17-24 Relationship p between the
minimum bend radius (relative to thickness) and
the ductility of the metal being bent (as
measured by the reduction in area in a uniaxial
tensile test)
test).
Figure 17-21 (Left) Press brake with CNC gauging system. (Courtesy of DiAcro Division,
Acrotech Inc., Lake City, MN.) (Right) Close-up view of press brake dies forming corrugations.
(Courtesy of Cincinnati Incorporated, Cincinnati, OH.)
Considerations for Bending Design Considerations

If the punch radius is Determine the dimensions of a flat blank that will
large and the bend angle produce a bent part of the desired precision
is shallow, large amounts
Metal tends to thin when it is bent
of springback
p g are often x

encountered
The sharper the bend
bend, the
more likely the surfaces
will be stressed beyond
the yield point
Springback compensation Figure
g 17-25 Bends should be made with the bend Figure
g 17-26 One method of determining g the starting
g blank size ((L)) for several bendingg
axis perpendicular to the rolling direction. When operations. Due to thinning, the product will lengthen during forming. l1, l2, and l3 are the desired
When bend radius > 4t intersecting bends are made, both should be at an product dimensions. See table to determine D based on size of radius R where t is the stock
angle to the rolling direction, as shown. thickness.

Air Bend, Bottoming, and Coining

Air-Bend, Roll Bending
Dies
Bottoming dies contact and Roll bending is a continuous form of three-point
x

p
compress the full area bending
within the tooling
Plates, sheets, beams, pipes
Air bend dies p produce the x

desired geometry by simple Figure 17-28 (Left)

three-point bending Schematic of the roll-
bending process;
If bottoming dies go beyond (right) the roll bending
of an I-beam section.
the full-contact position, the Note how the material
operation
ti is
i similar
i il tto is continuously
subjected to three-
coining Figure 17-27 Comparison of air-bend (left) and point bending.
bottomingg ((right)
g )p press brake dies. With the air- (Courtesy of Buffalo
Reduced material thickness bend die, the amount of bend is controlled by Forge Company,
Extensive plastic deformation the bottoming position of the upper die. Buffalo, NY.)
Draw Bending, Compression Tube Bending
Bending, and Press Bending Keyy p
parameters: outer diameter of the tube,,
wall thickness, and radius of the bend

Figure 17-30 (a) Schematic

representation of the cold roll-
forming process being used to
convertt sheet
h t or plate
l t into
i t tube.
t b
(b) Some typical shapes
produced by roll forming.
Figure 17-29
17 29 (a) Draw bending
bending, in which the form block rotates; (b) compression bending
bending,
in which a moving tool compresses the workpiece against a stationary form; (c) press
bending, where the press ram moves the bending form.

Roll Forming Seaming

A metal strip is progressively bent as it passes through a To join the ends of sheet metal in some form of
series of forming rolls mechanical interlock
Only bending takes place during this process Common products include cans, pails, drums, and
All bends are parallel to one another containers
A wide variety of shapes can be produced
But changeover, setup, and adjustment may take several hours
x

Figure 17-31 Various types of seams used on sheet metal.

Figure 17-31 Eight-roll sequence for the roll forming of a box channel. (Courtesy of the
Aluminum Association, Washington, DC.)
Straightening Drawing and Stretching Processes

Straightening or flattening is the opposite of bending

Done before subsequent forming to ensure the use of flat or straight
Drawing - plastic flow occurs over a curved
material
axis
Various methods to straighten material
Roll straightening (Roller levering) the flat sheet is formed into a three-dimensional
Stretcher leveling- material is mechanically gripped and stretch part
until it reaches the desired flatness
Spinning () is a cold forming operation
x

Sheet metal is rotated and shaped over a male
f
form, or mandrel
d l
Produces rotationally symmetrical shapes
Figure 17-33 Method of straightening rod or sheet by passing it through a set of
straightening rolls. For rods, another set of rolls is used to provide straightening in the
Spheres, hemispheres, cylinders, bells, and parabolas
transverse direction.

Spinning Shear Forming and Stretch Forming

x

Figure 17-35 (Below) Two stages in the

Shear forming is a
spinning of a metal reflector. (Courtesy of
Spincraft, Inc. New Berlin, WI.) version of spinning
x

In stretch forming a sheet

off is
i gripped
i d and
d a fform
block shapes the parts

Figure 17-34 (Above) Progressive stages in

the spinning of a sheet metal product.
Figure 17-36 Schematic representation
of the basic shear-forming process.

Figure 17-39 Schematic of a stretch-forming operation.

Deep Drawing and Shallow Drawing Limitations of Deep Drawing

Deep drawing is typically Wrinkling () and tearing are typical limits

used to form solid-bottom
cylindrical or rectangular to drawing operations
containers from sheet metal Different techniques
q can be used to
Key variables:
overcome these limitations
Blank and punch diameter
Punch and die radius Draw beads
Clearance Vertical projections and matching grooves in the die and
Thickness of the blank blankholder
Lubrication
Figure 17-40
17 40 Schematic of the deep-drawing
deep drawing
Trimming may be used to reach final
Hold-down pressure process. dimensions

Wrinkling and Tearing in Deep Darwing (Wrinkling)

(compressive
force)(buckle)







 (major
(major strain)

Draw Beads

To control the flow of the blank into the die

cavity
it andd reduce
d th
the bl
blankholder
kh ld fforces

(Source: Kalpakjian, 2010)

 Forming with Rubber Tooling or Fluid
Pressure
Blanking and drawing operations usually
require mating male and female die sets
Processes have been developed
p that seek to
Reduce tooling cost
D
Decrease setup
t time
ti and
d expense
Extend the amount of deformation for a single set
of tools

Alternative Forming Operations Sheet Hydroforming ()

Several forming Sheet hydroforming is a

operations
ope at o s replace
ep ace o
one
e familyy of processes
p in which
of the dies with rubber a rubber bladder backed by
or fluid pressure
p fluid pressure replaces
Guerin process
Figure 17-47 Method of blanking sheet metal using either the solid punch or
the Guerin process. Figure 17-50 (Above) One form of sheet hydroforming.
female die set
Other formingg
Ad
Advantages
t
x

operations use fluid or
Reduced cost of tooling
rubber to transmit the
D
Deeper parts
t can be
b fformed
d
pressure required to
without fracture
expand a metal blank
Excellent surface finish
Bulging ()
Figure 17-48 Method of bulging tubes with rubber Accurate part dimensions Figure 17-51 Two-sheet hydroforming, or pillow forming.
tooling.
g
Tube Hydroforming () Additional Drawing Operations
Process for manufacturing strong, lightweight, tubular components
Frequently used process for automotive industry Hot-drawing
Advantages
Lightweight, high-strength materials Sheet metal has a large surface area and small thickness,
Designs with varying thickness or varying cross section can be made so it cools
l rapidly
idl
Welded assemblies can be replaced by one-piece components
Relatively thick-walled parts
Disadvantages
Long cycle time Hi h E
High-Energy Rate
R t FForming
i
Relatively high tooling cost and process setup
x
Large amounts of energy in a very short time
L
Large workpiece
k i / diffi
difficult-to-form
lt t f metals
t l
Underwater explosions, underwater spark discharge,
pneumatic mechanical means
pneumatic-mechanical means, internal combustion of
gaseous mixtures, rapidly formed magnetic fields
Ironing
Process that thins the walls of a drawn cylinder by passing
Figure 17-52 Tube hydroforming. (a) Process schematic. it between a p
punch and a die

Additional Drawing Operations Manufacturing of Metal Honeycomb

Structures
Embossing A honeycomb structure consists of a core of
honeycomb bonded to two thin outer skins
Pressworking
P ki process iin which
hi h raised
i d llettering
tt i or
Has a high stiffness-to-weight ratio and is used in
other designs are impressed in sheet material
packaging for shipping consumer and industrial goods

((Source: Groover, 2005))

(Source: Kalpakjian, 2010)

Manufacturing of Metal Honeycomb Properties of Sheet Material
Structures
A honeycomb structure has light weight and Tensile strength of the material is important in
high resistance to bending forces
forces, used for determining which forming operations are
aircraft and aerospace components appropriate
Sheet metal is often anisotropic- properties
2 methods of manufacturing honeycomb vary with direction or orientation
materials:
Majority of failures during forming occur due
1. Expansion
E i process
to thinning or fracture
2. Corrugation process
Strain analysis can be used to determine the
best orientation for forming

Sheet metal Characteristics and

Sheet-metal Formability Tests for Sheet Metals
Formability
y
Sheet-metal formability is the ability of the sheet metal
to undergo the desired shape change without failure
Sheet metals may undergo 2 basic modes of
deformation: (1) stretching and (2) drawing

Cupping
C i Tests
T t
In the Erichsen test, the sheet specimen
is clamped and round punch is forced
into the sheet until a crack appears

(Source: Kalpakjian, 2010)

(Source: Kalpakjian, 2010)
Formability Tests for Sheet Metals Formability Tests for Sheet Metals

Forming-limit Diagrams Forming-limit Diagrams

To develop a forming
forming-limit
limit diagram
diagram, the major and minor
Forming-limit
F i li it didiagrams is
i tto d
determine
t i ththe
engineering strains are obtained
formability of sheet metals
Major axis of the ellipse represents the major direction
and magnitude of stretching
Major
M j strain
t i iis th
the engineering
i i
strain and is always positive
Minor strain can be positive
or negative
(So rce Kalpakjian
(Source: Kalpakjian, 2010)
Curves represent the boundaries
between failure and safe zones ((Source: Kalpakjian,
p j 2010))
(Source: Kalpakjian, 2010)

Example:
Presses Types of Press Frame x

Figure 17-60 (Left) Inclinable

gap-frame press with sliding
bolster to accommodate two
die sets for rapid change of
Figure 17-58 Schematic representation of
tooling. (Courtesy of Niagara
th various
the i ttypes off press drive
d i mechanisms.
h i Machine & Tool Works, Buffalo,
NY.)

Figure
g 17-61 ((Right)
g ) A 200-ton
(1800-kN) straight-sided press.
(Courtesy of Rousselle
Corporation, West Chicago, IL.)

Special Types of Presses

Presses have been designed to perform

specific types of operations Figure 17-62 Schematic showing the arrangement of dies and the transfer mechanism used in
transfer presses. (Courtesy of Verson Allsteel Press Company, Chicago, IL.)
Transfer ppresses have a longg movingg slide
that enables multiple operations to be
performed simultaneously in a single
machine

Figure 17-63 Various operations can be performed during the production of stamped and drawn
parts on a transfer press. (Courtesy of U.S. Baird Corporation, Stratford, CT.)
Summary
Sheet forming processes can be grouped in several
broad categories
Shearing
Bending
D
Drawing
i
Forming
Basic sheet forming operations involve a press
press,
punch, or ram and a set of dies
Material properties,
properties geometry of the starting material
material,
and the geometry of the desired final product play
p
important roles in determining
g the best p
process