Study Of An Analysis System Based On Pro/E For Metal Blank Unfolding

Blank prediction and products formability analysis is important in sheet metal forming process, which is the premise of prediction of analysis of sheet metal's formability, forming process design and process rule. Appropriate blank shape can eliminate unevenness of blank deformation, improve forming limit, reduce volume of cutting, raises the material utilization. The finite elements inverse approach based on total strain theory, only considering the initial and final stages of the parts, is very fast and high effective. Quickly getting high-precision results can reduce the times of mould-test and then decrease product cost, shorten development cycle and improve product quality.The work of this paper was supported by a grant from National Natural Science Foundation of China"Research on Fast numerical analysis model and key methods in the strip layout of Progressive die design for complicated Automotive Structural Parts"(No.50905067) and National NC Special Project"Stamping Dies of the whole body side panels, fenders and interiors of new environmentally friendly materials in C-Class car"(No. 2009ZX04013-031).The blank estimation analysis system of sheet metal forming was developed on Pro/E platform and solver developed by State Key Laboratory of Material Processing and Die Mould Technology.In the paper, propose of the work is explained, various methods for blank unfolding and the status and development trend of simulation of sheet metal forming are discussed and researched, the clear direction of software development is decided. At the same time, the characteristic of Pro/E development, the finite elements inverse approach and CAD / CAE integration methods is introduced.On the basis of the characteristic of sheet metal forming process, design idea of system is put forward, the function and demands of the system is analyzed, and the system structure is discussed. Several key technologies on Pro/E platform during program development is further studied, such as mesh generation, material library, constraints, process model setting and project data saving. A new meshing algorithm on Pro/E platform is developed for mesh generation so that the mesh quality was obviously improved, and the time used for preparation of FEA model is reduced. The material library is open to the user, who can add new materials into it or delete the material in the library. System considers the real forming process, which can raise the accuracy of result. The convenient and fast data management method ensures the stability of the system.The system achieves the CAD/CAE seamless integration. At the same time, the blank holder, binder, pad and draw bead are considered in the simulation, so the results is much more reliable. Through the experiment, the result shows that the system is feasible and accurate, which could be used in the sheet metal area.