Die-elasticity errors during nett-forming of engineering components

Form errors in components which are manufactured by the plastic deformation of engineering materials originate from several sources; among the most elusive of these are those which originate from the deflection of the machine during the deformation cycle and the elastic deflection of the die. To-date, it has not been possible to eliminate these errors for want of a systematic theory and supporting technologies. The proposed approach is based on the use of Physical Modeling techniques and the use of an innovative transducer for the measurement of the three components of force at any point on the die-cavity which can be used to map the force contour. This contour is used to initalise an FE simulation to establish the die deflection history and, hence the die-compensation requirements