Prediction on Die Structure Performance During Advanced High-Strength Steel Sheet Metal Stamping With Non-Rigid Tooling Definition

Die structure behavior and its stability are playing more important roles in stamping of advanced high-strength steel (AHSS) sheet metals since the die structure has to maintain steady forming conditions when larger forming load is generated and applied on the die components. Before the workshop try-out, the virtual testing tool is necessary to assure the stamping die design safety. In this paper, a reliable and efficient method to forecast the die structure performance using an updated load mapping algorithm was proposed to verify the stamping die structure design. Furthermore, an improved method for sheet metal forming modeling with non-rigid tooling definition was also presented to enhance the prediction accuracy. In order to validate the proposed method, a step-shaped-bottom cup drawing die was developed and a data collection system was also adopted to measure the strain/stress evolution at specified locations and to reveal the phenomenon of tooling deflection during the AHSS sheet metal drawing process. The comparison between experimental results and prediction demonstrated very good correlation, and the revised method is more accurate and efficient and is expected to be used to verify the industrial AHSS stamping die designs and support the further research on die structure optimization.