Compensation of springback deformation in sheet metal forming analysis

Process of metal forming in automotive parts construction becomes more and more demanding due to tightened up tolerance and trials to realize very complex and in many cases unworkable design in mass production. Moreover, it is required to cut and limit costs of die production and simultaneously keep high quality. Furthermore, construction elements are more often produced from materials which belong to High Strength Steel or Ultra High Strength Steel. Application of this kind of materials considerably reduces construction mass due to high durability. Nevertheless, it results in appearance of springback effect. Springback value depends mainly on used material as well as part geometry and in extreme cases deviation value from target part might reach in some areas high level. Designing of dies requires using of appropriate Finite Element Method software to make them more economic and less timeconsuming. Therefore, analysis of forming process alone is not enough to be taken into account. During the design process, it is needed to include the die compensation to reach optimized blank sheet. Prediction of springback effect by tryout method and then correction of deviation is difficult arduous and painstaking. Virtual compensation methods make it possible to receive precise result in a short time. This way gives a huge economic advantage eliminating useless milling and allows producing of die just in time. Optimization process can relate to individual operation as well as take into consideration intermediate stages in the final result, at the same time increasing the accuracy. Die compensation with software application was experimentally verified by prototype die.