FORMING AND FABRICATING AUTOMATION
T he term Industry 4.0 describes the latest sensor, communication, data-storage and connectivity (such as Internet of Things, or IoT) technologies used in manufacturing. Stamping is no exception. Industry 4.0 Applications in the Sheet Metal Forming Industry
• Understanding the incoming material properties • Adjusting the press and automa- tion based on the data • Checking if the parts awre as expected and within tolerance.
For sheet metal forming, we can summarize Stamping 4.0 as:
During blanking, a German automotive OEM measures sheet thickness in three different lines, sheet roughness on five different sections and lubrication on a linear pattern. Then each blank is marked for identification prior to forming.
For example, a North American OEM uses Fraunhofer’s 3MA (micromagnetic-multipa- rameter, microstructure and stress-analysis) sensor to estimate the YTE (yield and ten- sile strengths, and elongation) of its incom- ing material. It also uses a laser scanner to check blank thickness to within ±0.02 mm, and another Fraunhofer sensor to scan the lubrication on the sheet, to within ±0.05 g/m 2 . Based on this incoming data, and a database developed from FEA simulation, the appropri- ate cushion forces are calculated. The final
part draw-ins are vision-controlled using a Selmatec vision-based monitoring system. In another case, a German OEM uses resid- ual magnetic-field strength as the incoming material property, rather than estimating YTE. During blanking, it measures the sheet thick- ness in three different lines, sheet roughness on five different sections and lubrication on a linear pattern. Then each blank is marked for identification. For this particular body-side outer, the po- tential crack occurs at the lower end of the
B-pillar. Analysis reveals that the raw data fluctuate between coils and also within a coil. To alleviate cracking, rather than adjusting cushion force the OEM increased the amount of lubricant used.
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