Modern sheet-metal forming processes used in the automotive industry Essay

Modern sheet-metal forming processes used in the automotive industry - Essay Example Parts that are made using sheet metal have numerous attractive qualities, which include excellent accuracy of dimension, adequate strength, light weight, and a wide range of possible dimensions ranging from miniature parts in electronics to the large parts of airplane structures. All sheet-metal forming processes can be divided into two major groups: cutting processes that include shearing, blanking, notching, piercing, and so on; and plastic deformation processes, which include bending, stretch formation, deep drawing, and other various forming processes. The cutting group of processes involves cutting the material by subjecting it to sheer stresses between punch and die or between the blades of a shear. The punch and die may be any shape, and the cutting contour may be open and closed. Parting: this consists of cutting the piece into several pieces or removing pieces of scrap of various shapes from deep drawn pieces. The operation of parting results in production of some scrap, unlike cutoff. Bending; this consists of straining flat sheets or strips of metal uniformly around a linear axis. Metal on the outside of the bend is stressed in tension beyond the elastic limit. Metal on the inside of the bend is compressed. Bending is a process by which metal can be molded into any shape through plastically deforming the material. It usually refers to deformation about one axis, and the material is stressed above its yield strength but below it’s ultimate tensile strength. The surface area of the material is not altered much. It is a flexile process by which a wide variety of shapes can be produced using standard die sets. The material is placed on the die, then positioned in place using stops and gages, and held in place with hold-downs. The upper part of the press, which is the ram with the desired shaped punch descends and forms a v-shaped bend