Simplified blank design methods of panel forming process

This paper introduces simplified algorithms for predicting sheet configurations in panel forming production. Panel geometries are described using Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines technique. The blank design algorithms work conveniently in a non-dimensional parametric system. Two effective blank design approaches have been adopted and developed. The first method involves a simple geometric mapping based on the deformation compatibility condition, and the second approach performs minimization on the most-like even deformation corresponding to the lowest deformation energy, which, in an ideal situation, approaches well practical deformation path. Numerical applications show that combined use of these two methods allows to develop complex geometry in a low cost.