Benchmarking Methods for Short Cycle Stretch-Forming

Today stretch-forming is primarily used for the production of subconvex parts, such as aircraft body panels. However, in the case of car body panels such as doors, roof or trunk lids, the application of current stretch-forming technologies proves to be less efficient and more cost intensive. As part of current research at the Institute for Metal Forming Technology in Stuttgart, a new stretch-forming technology called SCS was developed which aims at improving these forming processes in order to meet economic requirements. The SCS Technology allows for the application of highly efficient processes of combined plane stretching and deep drawing using low-cost tools. The research and development was supplemented by newly defined benchmarking methods. Several tools suitable for basic research work and one close-to-production tool were developed and field-tested. The applied optimisation methods are described in this paper.