Experimental study of a high speed punching process

Punching process is increasingly used in industry. The punching speeds increase induces the generation of new mechanisms which are characterized by high strain rates like strain rate hardening of materials. The increase of the punching speeds also involves the formation of adiabatic shear bands (ASB). These effects result in improving the cutting quality. The critical releasing speed of the observed phenomena depends on the workpiece material properties and on the process parameters. To understand and identify the activated mechanisms, a high speed punching device has been developed. The proposed device enables the user to regulate a gap between punch and die of about 0.1 mm with a precision of 0.02 mm. In this paper we will present various aspects related to the design of the punching device and an analysis of measurements obtained for a micro alloy steel S600M.