PAM-STAMP in the simulation of

stamping process of an automotive component

I.A. Choudhury
*
, O.H. Lai, L.T. Wong
Department of Engineering Design and Manufacture, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Received 22 May 2003; received in revised form 15 April 2005; accepted 26 April 2005
Available online 21 June 2005
Abstract
The present study focuses on the stamping process simulation of automotive component
using PAM-STAMP
TM
simulation software. A die geometry of an automotive component
has been simulated in this study. Safe limit of blank holder forces have been identied with
respect to dierent parametric conditions. Plain carbon steel, reinforced steel and aluminum
alloys have been used as the work materials for simulation.
Safe limit of blank holder forces with respect to strain hardening exponent (n), friction coef-
cient between the blank sheet and the die (l) and punch speed (v) have been evaluated and
analyzed.
The result shows that the upper and lower limits of blank holder forces for plain carbon
steel are 240 kN and 125 kN while for aluminum alloy AC120; the limit is between 85 kN
and 50 kN. This indicates that plain carbon steel can be deformed without having any tear
for a higher value of the blank holder force while aluminum alloy can be deformed without
having any wrinkles at much lower value of the blank holder force. The upper bound limit
BHF values for reinforced steel and aluminummagnesium alloy are 220 kN and 200 kN
respectively.
It has also been observed that if the strain hardening exponent (n) of the work material
increases, the blank holder force also increases. However, with the increase of friction coe-
cient (l) or the punch speed (v), the blank holder force decreases.
2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
1569-190X/$ - see front matter 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.simpat.2005.04.002
*
Corresponding author. Tel.: +60 3 7967 5384.
E-mail address: imtiaz@um.edu.my (I.A. Choudhury).
www.elsevier.com/locate/simpat
Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181
Keywords: Stamping; Automotive sheet; Simulation; Blank holder force
1. Introduction
Stamping or deep drawing is a complex sheet metal forming process, which is gov-
erned by many dierent parameters. These parameters such as friction between the
tools and blank sheet, material properties, punch speed and many others inuence
the quality and economics of deep drawing. Sheet metal forming process is widely
used to fabricate automotive components. Nearly 70% of automotive components
are made by stamping process and one out of ten present diculties. Few major is-
sues in the quality of stamping products are (i) wrinkling and buckling, (ii) tearing,
(iii) uniformity in thickness, (iv) spring back, and (v) residual stresses. The quality of
a stamped part is aected by the amount of material drawn into the die cavity. If the
ow of material is excessive, wrinkle will result. In the case of insucient material
ow, tearing or splitting will occur.
The blank holder force (BHF), punch speed, and friction between the die and
blank sheet are the important parameters which control the quality of stamped
products. In order to improve the drawability and quality of products, researchers
have been trying to achieve control on the blank holder force [1]. Some researchers
have conducted studies on variable blank holder force techniques in order to sup-
press wrinkling on the ange [26]. For general sheet forming process and deep
drawing of rectangular panels, the eects of variable and distributed blank holder
forces were investigated by many researchers [714]. Investigation on variable blank
holder force method based on the fracture limit and a combined method using the
wrinkling and fracture limit curves were developed by some researchers [1517].
Some researchers focused on the denition of optimal blank holder histories, func-
tion of the punch displacement to determine the process window, i.e., the blank
holder path which permits to obtain the maximum height sound component without
any wrinkling or tear [18]. The blank holder plays an important role in controlling
the material ow into the die cavity by exerting a predened BHF prole. The BHF
prole, if selected properly, can eliminate wrinkles and delay fracture in the stamped
part [19,20].
Generally, a constant BHF is applied over the punch stroke in deep drawing pro-
cess. The stress in the deforming material changes signicantly during the drawing
process. Consequently, the process conditions that reduce wrinkling or fracture also
change. To take into account of these changes, BHF could be modied to increase
the formability of drawn parts. In drawing of a complex or asymmetric part, an elas-
tic or segmented blank holder can be used to obtain a non-uniform BHF over the
part ange area. Hence, it is possible to account for variations of the material ow
over dierent locations of the blank holder surface [2022].
Apart from BHF, punch speed control was also investigated by several research-
ers [23]. They concluded that a combination of blank holder force and punch speed
was very eective in improving the quality of product.
72 I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181
2. Simulation process by PAM-STAMP
PAM-STAMP
TM
version 1998 uses an explicit dynamic nite element code in
sheet stamping simulation processes. The material ow stress is dened by Swift-
Krupkowsky hardening law and is given by
r Ke e
o

n
1
where e is eective plastic strain, e
o
is oset yield strain, n is strain hardening expo-
nent, and K is hardening coecient.
In this study, stamping of an automotive bracket component has been simulated
with four dierent materials. Anisotropic elasticplastic PAM-STAMP
TM
type 107
material has been chosen as the blank material. This corresponds to an anisotropic
elasticplastic shell material. The yield locus is modeled as a quadratic function
(elliptical function) which is dened by three r-values and the yield stress and is
known as Hill-48 model. In this material simulation, Hills anisotropic plasticity
algorithm replaces von Mises isotropic plasticity algorithm. The following yield
function of anisotropic eects can be expressed via plastic yield function and using
Hills coecients, the yield function is given by
f r
G Hr
2
X
F Hr
2
Y
2Hr
X
r
Y
2Ns
2
XY
2

1=2
2
where G, F, H, and N are the four Hill coecients.
Plain carbon steel, reinforced steel and aluminum alloys have been used as the
blank materials in the simulation purposes. To obtain optimum process control in
stamping process, BHF is not only the parameter which inuences the product qual-
ity. Punch speed is also considered to be the most important variable apart from
BHF. A parametric study was performed to examine the eect of process parameters
i.e., BHF, coecient of friction, punch speed and strain hardening exponents on the
product quality. Eects of punch speed, friction between the die and the blank sheet
and material strain hardening exponent have been investigated on the stamped part.
Table 1 shows the various materials and their mechanical properties while Table 2
shows the condition of simulation.
Wrinkling and tearing by fracture are the main failure modes or defects encoun-
tered in stamped parts. The present simulation method attempts to eliminate both
wrinkling and fracture by determining safe BHF range for the dierent materials.
Table 1
Mechanical properties of dierent materials used for simulation
Material Youngs modulus
E (GPa)
Poissons
ratio, m
Strain hardening
exponent, n
Strength coecient,
K (MPa)
Plain carbon steel 210 0.3 0.2079 674.5
Reinforced steel 210 0.3 0.1405 697.1
AlMgMn alloy 70 0.3 0.3263 550.2
AC 120 70 0.3 0.2585 459.7
I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181 73
This will ensue that stretching is minimized and fracture is delayed. With Swift-Krup-
kowsky hardening law, the rst yield strain of each material is determined by equat-
ing Eq. (1) with uniaxial elasticity (Hookes Law) relation, r = Ee. At rst yield,
e
0
= 7.118 10
4
for plain carbon steel, 1.306 10
3
for reinforced steel,
7.514 10
4
for AlMnMg alloy and 1.139 10
3
for aluminum AC 120 alloy
are obtained.
3. Simulation result and analysis
3.1. Safe BHF for dierent materials
Stamping process was simulated at dierent values of BHF keeping the coecient
of friction and punch speed constant. BHF was increased and decreased until tearing
and wrinkling appeared respectively on the product. Simulation results of dierent
materials at limiting values of BHF are shown in Figs. 14. Coecient of friction
was set at 0.15 while the punch speed was 10 m/s. The lower limit of BHF indicates
that wrinkling on the products starts to appear while the upper limit indicates that
the product begins to tear apart. So any value within upper bound and lower bound
is safe for the material.
For plain carbon steel, reinforced steel and AlMnMg (Almanganesemagne-
sium) alloy, the dierence between the upper limits (tearing) and lower limits (wrin-
kling) of BHF forces are quite high. These materials especially the plain carbon steel
Table 2
Simulation condition
Punch speed, v (m/s) Coecient of friction, l Strain hardening exponent, n
10 0.03 0.10
20 0.05 0.15
30 0.10 0.2079
0.15 0.25
0.30
Fig. 1. Plain carbon steel wrinkling at BHF = 125 kN and tearing at BHF = 240 kN.
74 I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181
and reinforced steel can be formed at higher BHF (240 kN and 220 kN) without hav-
ing any risk of tearing. While for aluminum alloys, wrinkling starts at much lower
BHF and in the case of AC 120 alloy, both wrinkling and tearing takes place at much
lower BHF values (50 kN and 85 kN respectively). Thus AC 120 aluminum alloy has
a narrow safe BHF limit. As many aluminum alloys have got relatively low r-values
around 0.40.8, thinning resistance is low. From metallurgical point of view, it is
Fig. 2. Aluminum AC 120 alloy wrinkling at BHF = 50 kN and tearing at BHF = 85 kN.
Fig. 3. Almanganesemagnesium alloy wrinkling at BHF = 75 kN and tearing at BHF = 200 kN.
Fig. 4. Reinforced steel wrinkling at BHF = 100 kN and tearing at BHF = 220 kN.
I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181 75
expected that aluminum has inferior press formability compared to steel. Conse-
quently, tearing takes place at much lower BHF compared to steel.
In all the materials, wrinkling appears at the same location while tearing appears
at the junction of wall and the product bottom. In the upper bound limit of BHF,
material is constrained against ow into the die and there has been thinning at the
wall bottom resulting in tearing. The thickness at the torn section was observed to
be about 0.3 mm in all cases. At the section of wrinkling, material was found to
thicken by about 1015% from the initial blank thickness of 1 mm.
3.2. Safe BHF range and eect of friction coecient l on BHF
Wrinkling limit and tearing limit of dierent materials at coecient of friction
l = 0.15 are presented in Fig. 5. Wrinkling in plain carbon steel will result at BHF
less than 125 kN while tearing will result at a value greater than 240 kN. The stamp-
ing product will be free of either wrinkling or tearing if the BHF is maintained in the
range of 125 kN 6 BHF 6 240 kN. Similarly for reinforced steel, safe range is
100 kN 6 BHF 6 220 kN. The safe range for aluminum AC 120 alloy is observed
to be 50 kN 6 BHF 6 85 kN and it is 75 kN 6 BHF 6 200 kN for AlMnMg
alloy.
Fig. 6 shows the variation of upper and lower bound BHF at dierent coecient
of friction between the blank and die face. The blank material for simulation in this
case was plain carbon steel with a constant punch speed of 10 m/s. The lower bound
BHF which results in wrinkling is not as sensitive as upper bound BHF resulting in
tearing. As the friction coecient increases, the tearing (fracture) limit curve de-
creases markedly reducing the dierence between the upper bound and lower bound
BHF. Hence at higher friction between the die and the blank sheet, holding force
must not be very high. At suciently low friction (<0.05) or if there is good lubrica-
tion between the blank and die face, BHF can be high without having any chance of
tearing. However, care must be taken on the lower bound side so that it does not lead
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
S
t
e
e
l
R
e
i
n
f
o
r
c
e
d

s
t
e
e
l
A
C

1
2
0

A
l
u
m
i
n
u
m

a
l
l
o
y
Materials
B
l
a
n
k

h
o
l
d
e
r

f
o
r
c
e

(
k
N
)
s
a
f
e

l
i
m
i
t

s
a
f
e

l
i
m
i
t

s
a
f
e

l
i
m
i
t

w
r
i
n
k
l
i
n
g
w
r
i
n
k
l
i
n
g
w
r
i
n
k
l
i
n
g
w
r
i
n
k
l
i
n
g
s
a
f
e

l
i
m
i
t

Fig. 5. Safe BHF for dierent materials.
76 I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181
to ange wrinkling. If coecient of friction increases ve fold, hold down forces de-
creases by 1/4th of the original value in order to prevent wrinkling. However, with
the identical increase in friction, hold down force decreases by 1/10th of the original
value to prevent tearing fracture.
3.3. Eect of punch speed v on BHF
In order to investigate the eect of punch speed on the tearing BHF of plain car-
bon steel, stamping simulation was conducted at a constant coecient of friction
(l = 0.15). From Fig. 7, as the punch speed increases, tearing limit BHF decreases
markedly indicating the decrease in material formability at higher punch speed. As
the forming speed increases, high strain rate causes the material to yield at a lower
value and consequently tears at a lower BHF. Similar observations were found in
wrinkling also and this supports earlier observations made by other researchers
[1]. Thus, punch speed strongly inuences the drawability of a blank material in deep
drawing process.
3.4. Eect of strain hardening exponent, n on BHF
Fig. 8 shows the blank holder force at tearing and wrinkling at dierent strain
hardening exponent n. As the value of n increases, wrinkling and tearing limit of
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2
B
l
a
n
k

h
o
l
d
e
r

f
o
r
c
e

(
k
N
)
Coefficient of friction ()
tearing wrinkling
Safe operating zone
Fracture zone
Wrinkling
zone
Fig. 6. BHF of plain carbon steel at wrinkling and tearing for various values of l.
200
210
220
230
240
250
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Punch speed v (m/s)
B
H
F

a
t

t
e
a
r
i
n
g

(
k
N
)
Plain carbon steel
= 0.15
Fig. 7. BHF at tearing for various punch speed.
I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181 77
the material also increases. This suggests that a material with high n value can be
drawn at high hold down pressure without causing any fracture due to tearing or
without causing any wrinkling. With the increase of n, formability of the material
increases and fracture is delayed and that what is observed. In order to suppress
ange wrinkling, blank materials with high n- and low K-values are advantageous.
In the case of AlMnMg alloy and aluminum AC 120 alloy, it has been observed
that wrinkling can be suppressed until very low BHF.
3.5. Cross-sectioned stamped plain carbon steel sheet
Fig. 10 shows the thickness prole with respect to the cross-sectioned parts shown
in Fig. 9(a) and (b). Number 4 point indicates tearing in Fig. 9(a) while that in
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Strain hardening exponent, n
B
l
a
n
k

h
o
l
d
e
r

f
o
r
c
e

(
k
N
)
BHF at tearing
BHF at wrinkling
Fig. 8. BHF at tearing and wrinkling for various strain hardening exponent, n.
Fig. 9. Cross-sectioned part (a) tearing and (b) wrinkling.
78 I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181
Fig. 9(b), indicates minimum thickness even wrinkling was observed around point
(12). The thickness variation in wrinkled product is observed to be within 9095%
of initial thickness. However, when tearing has developed, the thickness reduced
to almost 30% of the initial thickness.
4. Conclusions
Prediction of safe limit of blank holder forces of an automotive component for
dierent materials has been evaluated using PAM-STAMP simulation software.
The eects of material properties and process variables (coecient of friction and
punch speed) on forming limit BHF are studied. Based on the simulation results, fol-
lowing conclusions can be made:
1. Plain carbon steel and reinforced steel are suitable for stamping of the part due
to their wide range of BHF. This makes them exible in the selection of BHF to suit
dierent requirements of stamping of the component such as press tonnage and other
factors that are directly related to the BHF. However for aluminum AC120 alloy,
safe BHF range is narrow. It is believed that the yield locus for aluminum is a
non-quadratic function meaning that curve corresponds to an ellipse which is
stretched along its longer axis and it has an equibiaxial yield stress factor. In the
algorithm, material type chosen results in yield locus which is modeled as a quadratic
function (elliptical function). Since material parameters required as input during the
denition of material type 109 (aluminum) were not available, yield locus of alumi-
num was also dened as an elliptical function (quadratic) rather than non-quadratic
function. This may lead to some error in the result.
2. In case of plain carbon steel as the blank material, BHF is inversely propor-
tional to the friction coecient l, between the blank sheet and the die. At higher fric-
tion (>0.10), dierence between the upper bound (initiation of tearing) and lower
bound (start of wrinkling) BHF decreases and one has to be careful to avoid any
tearing or wrinkling of the product. At high friction, the material is restrained from
owing into the die cavity and friction acts as an aid to the BHF and this minimizes
BHF value. However, when the coecient of friction is low (<0.10), safe operation
of BHF range increases.
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1.4
0 4 10 12 14
Position
T
h
i
c
k
n
e
s
s

(
m
m
)
Wrinkling
Tearing
2 6 8
Fig. 10. Thickness prole of cross-sectioned part at tearing and wrinkling.
I.A. Choudhury et al. / Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory 14 (2006) 7181 79
3. BHF is also inversely proportional to the punch speed v
p
when the blank mate-
rial is plain carbon steel. With the increase of forming speed, BHF has to be reduced
in order to avoid tearing. As the punch speed increases, the tearing limit BHF de-
creases resulting in a higher probability of tearing and a lower drawability. With
the increase of forming speed, high strain rate causes the material to yield at lower
value and as result, tearing BHF decreases.
4. As the strain hardening exponent, n of the material increases, both wrinkle and
tear BHF increases resulting in a lower probability of fracture or wrinkle. The result
supports that the formability of a material increases with the increase of n of the
material. Materials having high n values can be held at higher BHF without causing
any wrinkle.
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