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Defect identification and prevention in automotive component industry
1  Department of Mechanical Engineering, ISEP – School of Engineering, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4200-072 Porto, Portugal.
Academic Editor: Jie Zhang

Abstract:

The stamping process plays a key role in several industries, namely the automotive industry. Due to its widespread application, this sector has driven the evolution of the technologies and materials used in plastic forming. Although high-strength steels have shown excellent mechanical properties, there are drawbacks related to their formability, which are associated with the appearance of defects that compromise product quality. These materials can show unpredictable responses due to variations in their chemical composition, heat treatment, processing, and other parameters derived from their manufacturing process; thus, tests are needed to ensure that their performance is satisfactory. With the intention of predicting the appearance of these defects, the industry has resorted to numerical simulation tools to study the behavior of materials when subjected to forming processes. Simulation software is therefore a very useful instrument when knowledge about a certain material or process is limited. Therefore, the focus of this work was to study the behavior of high-yield-strength steels and the potential of numerical modeling and the advantages of applying it to the simulation of manufacturing processes to optimize the process and eliminating or preventing the formation of defects. The used Stampack software has proven to be very effective in preventing and resolving defects that arise during stamping. Through the wide range of features that Stampack offers, it was possible to recognize possible material breakage and risk factors. After the analyses, the geometry of the parts was optimized, and the stamping tests proved the veracity of the numerical results, with a 100% utilization rate of the components produced.

Keywords: Automotive industry; Stamping; Plastic deformation; High yield strength steels; Finite elements; Stampack.

 
 
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