Holistic design and simulation system in sheet metal forming processes

A holistic approach for design and simulation of sheet metal forming processes is nowadays required, based on the multilevel strategies depending on the necessary information. This would save the lead time for product development and ensure the quality of a sheet metal product. The multilevel approach consists of the use of simplified analysis for the basic design of forming processes as an initial approach and the refined CAE analysis based on various finite element methods. The simplified two-dimensional analysis by equilibrium approach or by the two-dimensional finite element method helps to obtain the basic initial design data within the quickest time possible. Based on the obtained basic data, the refined CAE analysis is carried out for finding more accurate design data usmg various tool surface description methods and finite element formulations based on the time integration method, element type, material modeling and so on. For a verification of CAE results, the computerized strain measurement is also introduced. In this work, the integrated design and simulation system is presented for a holistic approach to the sheet metal forming process development.