Force Modulator System

Many metal parts manufacturers use large metal presses to shape sheet metal into finished products like car body parts, jet wing and fuselage surfaces, etc. These metal presses take sheet metal and - with enormous force - reshape the metal into a fully formed part in a manner of seconds. Although highly efficient, the forces involved in forming metal parts also damage the press itself, limit the metals used in part production, slow press operations and, when not properly controlled, cause the manufacture of large volumes of defective metal parts. To date, the metal-forming industry has not been able to develop a metal-holding technology that allows full control of press forces during the part forming process. This is of particular importance in the automotive lightweighting efforts under way in the US automotive manufacturing marketplace. Metalforming Controls Technology Inc. (MC2) has developed a patented press control system called the Force Modulator that has the ability to control these press forces, allowing a breakthrough in stamping process control. The technology includes a series of hydraulic cylinders that provide controlled tonnage at all points in the forming process. At the same time, the unique cylinder design allows for the generation of very high levels of clamping forces (very high tonnages) in very small spaces; a requirement for forming medium and large panels out of HSS and AHSS. Successful production application of these systems testing at multiple stamping operations - including Ford and Chrysler - has validated the capabilities and economic benefits of the system. Although this technology has been adopted in a number of stamping operations, one of the primary barriers to faster adoption and application of this technology in HSS projects is system cost. The cost issue has surfaced because the systems currently in use are built for each individual die as a custom application, thus driving higher tooling costs. This project proposed to better marry the die-specific Force Modulator technology with stamping presses in the form of a press cushion. This system would be designed to operate the binder ring for multiple parts, thus cutting the per-die cost of the technology. This study reports the results of technology field application. This project produced the following conclusions: (1) The Force Modulator system is capable of operating at very high tempos in the stamping environment; (2) The company can generate substantial, controlled holding tonnage (binder ring pressure) necessary to hold high strength steel parts for proper formation during draw operations; (3) A single system can be designed to operate with a family of parts, thus significantly reducing the per-die cost of a FM system; (4) High strength steel parts made with these systems appear to show significant quality improvements; (5) The amounts of steel required to make these parts is typically less than the amounts required with traditional blank-holding technologies; and (6) This technology will aid in the use of higher strength steels in auto and truck production, thus reducing weight and improving fuel efficiency