Comparison of a metal forming simulation and the real part. Image courtesy of ESI Group.
The new release focuses on topology checking and geometry cleanup to help improve die face design.
In fact, with the new Die Starter feature, the software is able to generate a die based on the part and validate forming results. This tool can also help engineers create a starting point for their die face designs.
The Die Starter tool will help to shorten the design cycle and iteration needed to optimize the metal forming operation. Additionally, ESI reports that a new explicit computational algorithm will make calculations three times faster than previous versions. The algorithm also promises to reduce development cycle times.
“Car manufacturers aim to shorten their development cycles, sometimes to under a year. As a result, it is essential to forming operation and tool design engineers to be assured of very high surface quality early in the tool development cycle,” explains Harald Porzner, director of virtual manufacturing product management at ESI Group.
Results from PAM-STAMP can be transferred into Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA V5 or ESI’s Virtual Performance Solution. This ensures that the engineer will be basing upstream design decisions and simulations on the “as manufactured” metal components. This will inevitably improve the accuracy of the engineer’s results, as manufacturing doesn’t always produce parts as designed.
“Demand for accurate and defect free outer panels—especially with exciting stylings—has increased dramatically,” said Porzner. “Meeting that demand is even more challenging when using advanced material forming processes for structural parts. Reliable results in both cases depend on defining the tool geometry with great accuracy.”
In other words, adding the as manufactured data into later simulations will help to ensure that any defects within the parts are properly assessed. Some of the aesthetic and structural defects that PAM-STAMP can assess include:
- Splits
- Wrinkles
- Springback
- Shocks
- Skid lines
- Ski lines
- Sinks
- Local bending
- Material property changes
Additional improvements to PAM-STAMP 2015 include:
- New material database
- A strain path material law to improve the tolerancing of hot formed metal
- Friction work and plastic flow, including in high and ultra-high strength steel formation
- An assembly model to better assess tolerances
- Improved cost estimations
The aforementioned Die Starter function follows an industry trend to democratize simulation. The tool will help to bring simulation into the early design cycle allowing for more informed decisions. Additionally, since PAM-STAMP will be producing a near optimal design, it will reduce the time an engineer needs to create an effective tool. However, this tool shouldn’t be considered sufficient in and of itself. Analysts should still play a vital part in verifying the final design is up to snuff.