Optimum design of trimming line by one-step analysis for auto body parts

Abstract

During most of manufacturing processes of auto-body panels, the trimming line should be designed in advance prior to flanging. It is an important task to find a feasible trimming line to obtain a precise final part shape after flanging. This paper proposes a new fast method to find feasible trimming line based on one-step analysis. The basic idea of the one-step analysis is to seek for the nodal positions in the initial blank from the final part, and then the distribution of strain, stress and thickness in the final configuration can be calculated by comparing the nodal position in the initial blank sheet with the one of the final part. The one-step analysis method is able to predict the trimming line before flanging since the desired product shape after flanging can be defined from the final configuration and most of strain paths are simple during the flanging process. Finally, designers can obtain a discrete trimming line from the boundary of the developed meshes after one-step analysis and import it into CAD system in the early design stage. The proposed method has been successfully applied to two basic curve flanging processes demonstrating many advantages. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.