FIGURE 16.1 Examples of sheet-metal parts. (a) Stamped parts. (b) Parts produced by spinning.

Source: (a) Courtesy of Williamsburg

Metal Spinning & Stamping Corp.
TABLE 16.1 General Characteristics of Sheet-metal Forming Processes (in alphabetic order)
TABLE 16.2 Important Metal Characteristics for Sheet-forming Operations
Introduction
— Compared to casting and forging, sheet-metal parts
offer the advantages of: light weight and versatile
shape.
— Because of low cost and generally good strength and
formability characteristics, low-carbon steel is the
most commonly used sheet metal.
— For aircraft and aerospace applications, common sheet
materials are aluminum and titanium.
Outline of Sheet-Metal Forming
Processes

Figure 16.1
SHEET METALWORKING

§ Cutting Operations

§ Bending Operations

§ Drawing or Forming

§ Other Sheet Metal Forming Operations

Advantages of Sheet Metal Parts
— High strength

— Good dimensional accuracy

— Good surface finish

— Relatively low cost

— Economical mass production for large quantities

Basic Types of Sheet Metal
Processes
1. Cutting
— Shearing to separate large sheets
— Blanking to cut part perimeters out of sheet
metal
— Punching to make holes in sheet metal
2. Bending
— Straining sheet around a straight axis
3. Drawing or Forming
— Forming of sheet into convex or concave
shapes
Sheet Forming Examples

Cutting

Bending
Drawing
Soft Tooled v. Hard Tooled
Processes
1. Soft Tooled (Programmable - Expendable tooling –
medium to low volume applications)
— Laser, Plasma, and Oxy-fuel Cutting
— Bend Brake
— Turret Press
2. Hard Tooled (Stamping Dies – high capital
investment)
— Standard Press Brake (manual batch)
— Stage Tooling (manual line transfer)
— Progressive Die
— Transfer Presses
Sheet Metal Cutting
Sheet metal cutting examples:
Shearing, Blanking, & Punching

(1) punch before contact,

clearance ‘c’ between
punch and die

(2) punch causes material to

(3) smooth cut surface is

formed

(4) fracture initiated at the

opposing cutting edges
which separates the sheet.
1. Shearing
Sheet metal cutting operation along a
between two cutting edges
— Typically used to cut large sheets

(a) side view of the shearing operation; (b) front view of

power shears equipped with inclined upper cutting blade.
2. Blanking and Punching
Blanking - sheet metal cutting to separate piece
(called a) from surrounding stock
Punching - similar to blanking except cut piece is scrap,
called a

(a) Blanking and (b) punching.

Clearance in Sheet Metal Cutting
— Distance between punch cutting edge and die
cutting edge (typically 4 - 8% of thickness)
— If too small (a), fracture lines pass each other, causing
double burnishing and larger force
— If too large (b), metal is pinched between cutting edges
and excessive burr results
Clearance in Sheet Metal Cutting
— Recommended clearance is calculated by:
c = a·t
where c = clearance;
a = allowance;
t = stock thickness

— Allowance is determined according to type of metal:

Metal group a _
aluminum alloys (1100, 5052) 0.045
aluminum alloys (2024 and 6061); brass, 0.060
soft cold rolled steel, soft stainless steel
cold rolled steel, stainless steel, (hard & half-hard) 0.075
 Punch and Die Sizes
— For a round blank of dia. Db
and clearance c:
— Blanking punch diameter =

— Blanking die diameter =

— For a round hole of dia. Dh

and clearance c :
— Hole punch diameter =

— Hole die diameter =

 Angular Clearance

Purpose: allows slug or blank to drop through die

— Typical values: 0.25O to 1.5O on each side

Cutting Force:
F=StL
where S = shear strength;
t = stock thickness,
L = length of cut edge
(disregard ‘c’)
1 ton ≈ 8896 N
Progressive Die
 Types of Sheet Metal Bending
— V-bending - performed with
a V-shaped die
— Performed on a
press brake
— V-dies are simple and
inexpensive
— Edge bending - performed
with a wiping die
— Pressure pad required
— Dies are more complicated
and costly
 Stretching
— If bend radius is
during Bending
relative to
stock thickness, metal tends to
stretch during bending
— Important to estimate amount
of stretching, so final part
length = specified dimension
— Problem: to determine the
length of neutral axis of the
part before bending
Bend Allowance Formula L1

α
Ab = 2π ( R + K bat )
360

L2

where Ab = bend allowance; α = bend angle; R= bend

radius; t = stock thickness; Kba is factor to
estimate stretching
If R < 2t, Kba = 0.33
If R ≥ 2t, Kba = 0.50
Springback
Increase in included angle of bent part relative to included angle
of forming tool after tool is removed

(1) during bending, the work is forced to take radius Rb and

included angle αb' of the bending tool, (2) after punch is removed,
the work springs back to radius R and angle α‘.
 Springback

— Y: yield strength of the

material é1 1 ù Y 2æ Y ö
3

— E: modulus of elasticity of ê - ú = 3 - 4Ri ç ÷

the material êë Ri R f úû TE è TE ø
— T: thickness of the material
Aluminum Alloy v.s. low C steel ?
Bending Force
Maximum bending force estimated as follows:
where F = bending force;
K bf × TS × w × t 2
TS = tensile strength;
F=
D w = part width;
t = stock thickness.
For V- bending, Kbf = 1.33;
D = die opening
For edge bending, Kbf = 0.33
Force and Springback estimates of a V-Bend
— A square Ti Alloy work piece being bent:
— E=300GPa, Y=344MPa, TS=415MPa,
— t=2mm, w=150mm, D=75mm
— Ri=6mm
— Kbf = 1.33, or 0.33

Punch Force:
Springback Estimation:

Using é1 1 ù Y 2æ Y ö
3

Formula ê - ú = 3 - 4Ri ç ÷
êë Ri R f úû TE è TE ø
 Drawing
— Sheet metal forming to
make cup-shaped,
box-shaped, or other
hollow-shaped parts
— clearance c = 1.1 t
— where t = stock
thickness
— In other words,
clearance is about 10%
greater than stock
thickness
Tests of Drawing Feasibility
Db
— Drawing ratio DR =
Dp
— where Db = blank diameter; and Dp = punch diameter

— Indicates severity of a given drawing operation

— Upper limit:
Db - Dp
— Reduction r=
Db
— Value of r should be less than 0.50 for a cylinder

— Thickness-to-diameter ratio
— Thickness of starting blank divided by blank diameter

— Desirable for t/Db ratio to be greater than

— As t/Db decreases, tendency for wrinkling increases

Blank Size Determination
— For final dimensions of drawn shape to be correct,

starting blank diameter Db must be right

— Solve for Db by setting starting sheet metal blank

volume = final product volume

— To facilitate calculation, assume negligible thinning of

part wall
Other Sheet Metal Forming
— Ironing
— Embossing
— The Guerin process
— Stretch forming
— Roll bending
— Roll forming
— Spinning
 Ironing

— Makes wall thickness of cylindrical cup more

uniform

Ironing to achieve more uniform wall thickness in a drawn cup:

(1) start of process; (2) during process. Note thinning and
elongation of walls.
Embossing

Creates indentations in sheet, such as raised (or

indented) lettering, or strengthening ribs

Embossing: (a) cross-section of punch and die configuration

during pressing; (b) finished part with embossed ribs.
Guerin Process

Advantages:

— Low tooling cost

— Rubber pad can

be used with
different form
blocks

— Suited for
prototype
production
 Stretch Forming
Sheet metal is stretched and simultaneously bent:
φ

F = L × t ×Yf

• F = stretching force; L = length in direction perpendicular to

stretching (e.g. width ); t = thickness; Yf = flow stress
• Initially assume ε = 0.002, calculate Yf = K εn
• As ‘length’ is increased ‘t’ is decreased
– Find tf by conservation of volume: wotoLo= wf ∙ tf ∙ Lf
• Die force Fdie can be determined by balancing vertical force
components: Fdie =
Roll Bending

Large metal sheets and plates are formed into

curved sections using rolls
Roll Forming

Continuous bending process in which opposing rolls

produce long sections of formed shapes from coil or strip
stock
Spinning
Metal forming process in which an axially symmetric
part is gradually shaped over a rotating mandrel using a
rounded tool or roller

α
 Shearing (1)*
— The major processing parameters in shearing are the:
— Sheet metal material
— Shape and materials for the punch and die
— The speed of punching
— Lubrication
— The clearance c between the punch and die
— The clearance is a major factor in determining the shape
and quality of the sheared edge.
— As clearance increases, the sheared edge becomes rougher
and the zone of deformation becomes larger.
— The sheet tends to get pulled into the clearance zone, and
the edges of the sheared zone become rougher.
Shearing (2)*
— If edges are not acceptable, secondary ops are needed,
increasing the cost.
— The ratio of the burnished to rough areas on the sheared
edge increases with increasing ductility of the sheet metal
and it decreases with increasing sheet thickness and
clearance.
— The width of the deformation zone depends on punch
speed.
— With increasing speed, the heat generated by plastic
deformation is increasingly confined to smaller zone and
consequently, the sheared surface is narrower and smoother.
— Sheared edges can undergo severe cold working because of
the high strains involved. This result, in turn, can adversely
affect the formability of the sheet during subsequent
operations.
 Shearing (3)*
— A burr is a thin edge or ridge
— Burr height increases with increasing clearance and
increasing ductility of the sheet metal.
— Dull tool edges also contribute greatly to burr formation.
— The height, shape, and size of the burr can significantly
affect subsequent forming operations.
— Deburring ops removes these burrs.
 Shearing

Figure 16.2 (a)

Schematic illustration of
shearing with a punch and
die, indicating some of
the process variables.
Characteristic features of
(b) a punched hole and (c)
the slug. Note that the
scales of the two figures
are different.
Punch Force*
— The force required to punch is basically the product
of the shear strength of the sheet metal and the area
being sheared.
— The friction between the punch and the workpiece
can increase this force substantially.
— The maximum punch force F is estimated from the
following expression:
— F=0.7 T . L . (UTS)
— T is the sheet thickness
— L is the total sheared length
— UTS is the ultimate tensile strength of the material
— As clearance increases, the punch force decrease and the wear
of dies and punches are also reduced
— A force is required to remove the punch from the sheared
workpiece in the return stroke.
 Clearance

Figure 16.3 (a) Effect of the clearance, c, between punch and die on the
deformation zone in shearing. As the clearance increases, the material
tends to be pulled into the die rather than be sheared. In practice,
clearances usually range between 2% and 10% of the thickness of the
sheet. (b) Microhardness (HV) contours for a 6.4-mm (0.25-in) thick
AISI 1020 hot-rolled steel in the sheared region. Source: H. P. Weaver
and K. J. Weinmann.
Clearance*
— Clearance is a function of:
— Type of material and its temper
— Thickness
— Size of the sheared blank and its proximity to the sheet
edges
— In general, clearance for softer material is less than
harder material.
— The thicker the sheet, the larger the clearance.
— Small holes require larger clearance than larger holes.
— The smaller the clearance, the better the edges.
Shearing Operations*
— Punching and Blanking
— Die Cutting:
— Perforating
— Parting
— Lansing
— Notching
— Fine Blanking
— Slitting
— Steel Rule
— Nibbling
 Shearing Operations
Figure 16.4 (a) Punching (piercing) and blanking. (b)
Examples of various shearing operations on sheet metal.
 Fine Blanking
(a) (b)

Figure 16.5 (a) Comparison of sheared edges produced by

conventional (left) and by fine-blanking (right) techniques. (b)
Schematic illustration of one setup for fine blanking. Source:
Feintool U.S. Operations.
Slitting

Figure 16.6 Slitting with

rotary knives. This process
is similar to opening cans.
 Laser Welding
Figure 16.7 Production of an outer side panel of a car body, by laser butt-
welding and stamping. Source: After M. Geiger and T. Nakagawa.
Examples of Laser Welded Parts

Figure 16.8 Examples of laser butt-welded and stamped

automotive body components. Source: After M. Geiger and T.
Nakagawa.
 Die and Punch Shaving
Figure 16.9 Schematic illustrations of the shaving of a sheared
edge. (a) Shaving a sheared edge. (b) Shearing and shaving,
combined in one stroke.
Punch and Die Shear Angles

Figure 16.10 Examples of the use of shear angles on

punches and dies.
 Punch and Die Shear Angles
— Flat punch and die leads to rapid punch force build up,
because all the thickness is sheared at the same time.
— The area being sheared at any time can be controlled by
beveling the punch and die surfaces.
— Beveling the surfaces reduces the punch force at the
beginning of the stroke and reduces the noise operating
level.
— Symmetric punch and die result in no lateral force.
Resulting in accurate positioning of features.
 Compound and Progressive Die
FIGURE 16.11
Schematic illustrations
(a) before and (b) after
blanking a common
washer in a compound
die. Note the separate
movements of the die (for
blanking) and the punch
(for punching the hole in
the washer). (c)
Schematic illustration of
making a washer in a
progressive die. (d)
Forming of the top piece
of an aerosol spray can
in a progressive die. Note
that the part is attached
to the strip until the last
operation is completed.
Other Methods of Cutting Sheet
Metal
— Band Saw

— Flame Cutting

— Laser-Beam Cutting

— Friction Sawing

— Water-jet Cutting/Machining
Characteristics of Metals
Important in Sheet Forming
TABLE 16.2
ǺĶÏ ÒÏ ĬÔĮÒĹÓÔĹĬ ČĿ ÑŇÒÔÏ ŃĬĮ
Elongation Determines the capability of the sheet metal to stretch without necking and failure; high
strain-hardening exponent (n)and strain-rate sensitivity exponent (m)desirable.
Yield-point elongation Observed with mild-steel sheets; also called Lueder’s bands and stretcher strains; causes
flamelike depressions on the sheet surfaces; can be eliminated by temper rolling, but
sheet must be formed within a certain time after rolling.
Anisotropy (planar) Exhibits different behavior in different planar directions; present in cold-rolled sheets
because of preferred orientation or mechanical fibering; causes earing in drawing; can be
reduced or eliminated by annealing but at lowered strength.
Anisotropy (normal) Determines thinning behavior of sheet metals during stretching; important in deep-
drawing operations.
Grain size Determines surface roughness on stretched sheet metal; the coarser the grain, the rougher
the appearance (orange peel); also affects material strength.
Residual stresses Caused by nonuniform deformation during forming; causes part distortion when sectioned
and can lead to stress-corrosion cracking; reduced or eliminated by stress relieving.
Springback Caused by elastic recovery of the plastically deformed sheet after unloading; causes
distortion of part and loss of dimensional accuracy; can be controlled by techniques such
as overbending and bottoming of the punch.
Wrinkling Caused by compressive stresses in the plane of the sheet; can be objectionable or can be
useful in imparting stiffness to parts; can be controlled by proper tool and die design.
Quality of sheared edges Depends on process used; edges can be rough, not square, and contain cracks, residual
stresses, and a work-hardened layer, which are all detrimental to the formability of the
sheet; quality can be improved by control of clearance, tool and die design, fine blanking,
shaving, and lubrication.
Surface condition of sheet Depends on rolling practice; important in sheet forming as it can cause tearing and poor
surface quality; see also Section 13.3.
Sheet-Metal Characteristics
— Elongation
— Since the material is being stretched in sheet forming,
high uniform elongation is desirable for good
formability.
— Yield-Point Elongation
— Low-carbon steels exhibit a behavior called yield-point
elongation, with upper and lower yield points.
— This behavior indicates that after the material yields,
the sheet stretches farther in certain regions without
any increase in the lower yield point, while other
regions in the sheet have not yet yielded.
— Aluminum-Magnesium alloys exhibit this behavior.
Yield-Point Elongation
(a) (b) (c)

Figure 16.12 (a) Yield-point elongation in a sheet-metal specimen. (b)

Lueder's bands in a low-carbon steel sheet. Source: Courtesy of Caterpillar
Inc. (c) Stretcher strains at the bottom of a steel can for household products.
Sheet-Metal Characteristics
— Anisotropy
— Important factor that influences sheet-metal forming is
anisotropy (directionality) of the sheet.
— The anisotropy is acquired during the thermo-
mechanical processing of the sheet.
— Grain size
— Grain size affects mechanical properties and influences
the surface appearance of the formed part.
— The coarser the grain, the rougher is the surface
appearance.
Test Methods for Formability of
Sheet Metals
— Formability is defined as the ability of the
sheet metal to undergo the desired shape
change without failure, such as by necking
or tearing.
— Basic modes of deformation for sheet metal
(depending on the part geometry) are
stretching and drawing.
Test Methods for Formability of
Sheet Metals -- Cupping tests
— The sheet metal specimen is clamped
between two circular flat dies, and a steel
ball or round punch is pushed
hydraulically into the sheet metal until a
crack begins to appear on the stretched
specimen.
— The greater the value of d, the greater is
the formability of the sheet.
 Erichsen and Bulge-Tests
FIGURE 16.13 (a) A cupping test (the Erichsen test) to determine the formability of sheet metals. (b) Bulge-test results on steel sheets
of various widths. The specimen farthest left is subjected to, basically, simple tension. The specimen that is farthest right is subjected to
equal biaxial stretching. Source: Courtesy of Inland Steel Company.
 Tearing and Bending
Figure 16.15 The deformation of the
grid pattern and the tearing of sheet
metal during forming. The major and
minor axes of the circles are used to
determine the coordinates on the
forming-limit diagram in Fig. 16.14b.
Source: S. P. Keeler.

Figure 16.16 Bending

terminology. Note that the bend
radius is measured to the inner
surface of the bent part.
 Bending
(a) (b)

(c) Figure 16.17 (a) and (b) The effect of

elongated inclusions (stringers) on
cracking, as a function of the direction of
bending with respect to the original
rolling direction of the sheet. (c) Cracks
on the outer surface of an aluminum strip
bent to an angle of 90o. Note the
narrowing of the tope surface due to the
Poisson effect.
Test Methods for Formability of Sheet
Metals -- Forming-Limit diagrams
— Forming-Limit diagrams (FLD)
— The sheet is marked with a grid pattern of circles, typically
2.5-5 mm in diameter.
— The blank is then stretched over a punch, and the
deformation of the circles is observed and measured in
regions where failure (necking and tearing) has occurred.
— The thicker the sheet, the higher its formability curve is
and the more formable it is.
— Friction and lubrication at the punch-sheet interface also
are important.
— Major engineering strain is always +ve
— Minor engineering strain can be +ve or –ve
— FLD shows safe and failure zones, so as to determine
operating parameters for the process
 Major and Minor Strain

Figure 16.14 (a) Strains in deformed circular

grid patterns. (b) Forming-limit diagrams
(FLD) for various sheet metals. Although the
major strain is always positive (stretching), the
minor strain may be either positive or negative.
In the lower left of the diagram, R is the normal
anisotropy of the sheet, as described in Section
16.9.2. Source: S. S. Hecker and A. K. Ghosh.
Bending Sheet and Plate
— Bending is used to form parts such as flanges, seams,
and corrugations.
— It is also used to impart stiffness to the part by
increasing its moment of inertia.
— In bending, the outer fibers of the material are in
tension and the inner fibers are in compression.
— The bend allowance is the length of the neutral axis is
used to determine the blank length for a bent part.
Bend Allowance Lb
— The bend allowance is the length of the neutral
axis is used to determine the blank length for a
bent part.
— An approximate formula for bending allowance is:
Lb=α (R + k*T)
α is the bend angle in radians
R is the bend radius
k is a constant and T is sheet thickness
When the neutral axis is in the center of the sheet
thickness, then k=0.5
Minimum Bend radius
— The engineering strain on a sheet during bending is:
e= 1/(2*[R/T] + 1)
— As R/T decreases (bend radius becomes smaller), the tensile
strain at the outer fiber increases and the material
eventually cracks.
— The radius at which the cracks appears on the outer
surface of the bend is referred to as the minimum
bend radius for that material.
— This minimum bend radius is usually expressed in
terms of the sheet thickness, i.e. 2T, 3T, …
— As an example, 3T bend radius, means that the
smallest radius to which the sheet can be bent without
cracking is 3 times the thickness.
— There is an inverse relationship between bendability
and the tensile reduction of area of the material.
 Minimum Bend radius
— The minimum bend radius is approximately:
— R= T([50/r] – 1)
— Where r is the tensile reduction of area of the sheet metal.
— To increase the bendability of metals, we may increase their
tensile reduction of area either by :
— Heating
— bending in a high pressure environment to improve ductility.

— Bendability depends on the edge condition of the sheet.

Since rough edges are points of stress concentration,
bendability decrease as edge roughness increases.
 Minimum Bend radius
— Another significant factor in edge cracking is the amount
and shape of inclusions in the sheet metal and the amount
of cold working that the edges undergo during shearing.
— Removal of cold-worked regions (by machining or annealing
to improve ductility) greatly improves the resistance to edge
cracking.
— Anisotropy of the sheet is an important factor in bendability.
Therefore, attention should be paid to the preferred
orientation, hence cut and form accordingly.
— Anisotropic behavior can be observed in the direction of the
cracking in the cupping test. If the crack longitudinal then it
is anisotropic, if the crack is circular then the sheet is
isotropic.
Minimum Bend Radius for Various
Materials at Room Temperature
TABLE 16.3
Condition
Material Soft Hard
Aluminum alloys 0 6T
Beryllium copper 0 4T
Brass, low-leaded 0 2T
Magnesium 5T 13T
Steels
Austenitic stainless 0.5T 6T
Low-carbon, low-alloy, and HSLA 0.5T 4T
Titanium 0.7T 3T
Titanium alloys 2.6T 4T
R/T Ratio versus % Area
Reduction
Figure 16.18 Relationship
between R/T ratio and
tensile reduction of area for
sheet metals. Note that
sheet metal with a 50%
tensile reduction of area
can be bent over itself, in a
process like the folding of
a piece of paper, without
cracking. Source: After J.
Datsko and C. T. Yang.
Springback
— Since all material have a finite modulus of elasticity,
plastic deformation is followed by some elastic
recovery when the load is removed.
— In bending, this recovery is called springback.
— The final bend angle after springback is smaller and
the final bend radius is larger than before.
— Springback can be calculated in terms of the radii Ri
and Rf as:
— Ri/Rf = 4 [(Ri Y) /(E T)] 3 – 3 (Ri Y) / (E T) + 1
— Springback increases as the R/T ratio and yield stress
Y of the material increase and the elastic modulus E
decreases.
Compensation of Springback
— In forming practice, springback is usually compensated
for by overbending the part.
— Trial and error is needed before reaching the desired
results.
— Another method is to coin the bend area by subjecting
it to high localized compressive stresses between the tip
of the punch and the die surface.
— Another method is stretch bending in which the part is
subjected to tension while being bent.
— Since springback decreases as yield stress decreases,
bending may be carried out at elevated temperature to
reduce springback.
Springback
Figure 16.19 Springback in
bending. The part tends to
recover elastically after ending,
and its bend radius becomes
larger. Under certain
conditions, it is possible for the
final bend angle to be smaller
than the original angle (negative
springback).

Figure 16.20 Methods

of reducing or
eliminating
springback in bending
operations. Source: V.
Cupka, T. Nakagawa,
and H. Tyamoto.
FIGURE 16.16 Bending terminology. Note that the bend radius is measured to the inner surface of the bent part.
Bending Force
— The forces are estimated assuming the process of
bending a rectangular beam.
— The bending force is a function of the strength of the
material, the length L of the bend, thickness T of the
sheet, and the die opening W.
— Excluding friction, the maximum bending force P is
(k = .7 for U-die, 1.3 for V-die):
P = k Y L T2 / W
— In V-die
P = UTS L T2 / W
Press Brake Forming*
— Sheet metal or plate can be bent easily with simple
fixtures using a press.
— Long (7m or more) and relatively narrow pieces are
usually bent in a press brake.
— Utilizes long dies in a mechanical or hydraulic press
and is suitable for small production runs.
— Die materials may range from hardwood, for low-
strength materials and small production runs, to
carbides.
— For most applications, carbon-steel or gray-iron dies
are generally used.
Other Bending Operations*
— Roll-bending process bends plates. By adjusting the
distance between the three rolls, various curvatures can
be obtained.
— Beading: in beading the edge of the sheet metal is bent
into the cavity of the die. The bead:
— gives stiffness to the part by increasing the moment of
inertia of the edges.
— Improves the appearance of the part and eliminates exposed
sharp edges.
FIGURE 16.20 Methods of
Reducing or eliminating springback
in bending operations.
Bending Operations
FIGURE 16.21 Common die-bending operations showing the die-opening dimension, W, used in calculating bending forces.
Bending Operations
FIGURE 16.22 Examples of various bending operations.
 Bead Forming
FIGURE 16.24 (a) Bead forming with a single die. (b) through (d) Bead forming with two dies in a press brake.
Flanging (1)*
— Flanging: is a process of bending the edges of sheet metals.
Two methods:
— Shrink flanging: the flange is subjected to compressive hoop
stresses which if excessive cause the flange edges to wrinkle.
Wrinkling tendency increases with decreasing radius of
curvature of the flange.
— Stretch flanging: the flange edges are subjected to tensile
stresses and, if excessive, can lead to cracking at the edges.
— Dimpling operation, a hole is first punched and then
expanded into a flange, or a shaped punch pierces the sheet
metal and expands the hole.
 Flanging (2)*
— Flanges may be produced by piercing with a shaped punch.
The ends of tubes are flanged by a similar process. When the
angle of bend is less than 90o, as in fittings with conical
ends, the process is called flaring.
— The condition of the edges is important in these operations.
Stretching the material cause high tensile stresses at the
edges, which could lead to cracking and tearing of the flange.
— As the ratio of flange to hole diameters increases, the strains
increase proportionality. The rougher the edge, the greater
will be the tendency for cracking. Sheared or punched edges
may be shaved with a sharp tool to improve the surface finish
of the edge and reduce the tendency for cracking.
Flanging Figure 16.25
Various flanging
operations. (a)
Flanges on a flat
sheet. (b) Dimpling.
(c) The piercing of
sheet metal to form
a flange. In this
operation, a hole
does not have to be
prepunched before
the bunch descends.
Note, however, the
rough edges along
the circumference of
the flange. (d) The
flanging of a tube;
note the thinning of
the edges of the
flange.
 Hemming (Flattening)*
— The edge of the sheet is folded over itself.
— Hemming:
— increases the stiffness of the part
— Improves its appearance, and
— Eliminates sharp edges
— Seaming involves joining two edges of sheet metal by
hemming.
— Double seams are made by a similar process, using
specially shaped rollers, for watertight and airtight
joints, such as in food and beverage containers.
 Roll Forming
— Bending continuous lengths of sheet metal and for large production
runs, roll forming is used (contour roll forming or cold roll forming).
The metal strip is bent in stages by passing it through a series of rolls.
Typical products are channels, siding panels, frames, and pipes and
tubing with lock seams.
— Length of the part is limited only by the amount of material supplied
from the coiled stock.
— Forming speeds are generally below 1.5 m/s, although they can be
much higher for special applications. Sheet thickness 0.125 mm to 20
mm.
— Proper design and sequencing of the rolls requires experience.
Tolerances, springback, and tearing and buckling of the strip have to
be considered.
— Rolls are generally made of carbon steel or gray iron and maybe
chromium plated (improving product’s surface finish and wear
resistance of the rolls).
— Lubricants maybe used to improve roll life and surface finish and to
cool the rolls and the workpiece.
 Bending in a Press Brake
FIGURE 16.23 (a) through (e) Schematic illustrations of various bending operations in a press brake. (f) Schematic illustration of a
press brake. Source: Courtesy of Verson Allsteel Company.
 Roll Forming
Figure 16.26 Schematic
illustration of the roll-forming
process.
Tube Bending and Forming
— Bending and forming tubes and other hollow sections
require special tooling to avoid buckling and folding.
— The oldest and simplest method of bending a tube or
pipe is to pack the inside with loose particles (commonly
sand) and bend the part in a suitable fixture.
— Tubes can also be plugged with various flexible internal
mandrels.
— A thick tube having a large bend radius can be bent
without filling it with particulates or using plugs.
 Tube Bending

Figure 16.27 Methods of bending tubes. Internal mandrels, or the

filling of tubes with particulate materials such as sand, are often
necessary to prevent collapse of the tubes during bending. Solid
rods and structural shapes can also be bent by these techniques.
Bulging
— Bulging: is a basic forming process that involves placing a
tubular, conical, or curvilinear part in a split-female die and
expanding it with, say, a polyurethane plug.
— The punch is then retracted, the plug returns to its original
shape, and the part is removed by opening the dies.
— Typical products are coffee or water pitchers, barrels, and
beads on drums.
— The advantage of using polyurethane plugs is that they are
very resistant to abrasion, wear, and lubricants, and they
do not damage the surface finish of the part being formed.
— Hydraulic pressure maybe used in bulging operations,
although they require sealing and need hydraulic controls.
 Figure 16.28 (a) The bulging of a tubular part with a flexible

Bulging plug. Water pitchers can be made by this method. (b) Production
of fittings for plumbing, by expanding tubular blanks under
internal pressure. The bottomof the piece is then punched out to
produce a "T." Source: J. A. Schey, Introduction to Manufacturing
Processes (2d ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill Publishing Company,
1987.
Manufacturing of Bellows

Figure 16.29 Steps in manufacturing a bellows.

•Bulging at equidistant locations.
•Then compressed axially to collapse the bulged regions,
thus forming bellows.
•The tube material must be able to undergo the large
strains involved during the collapsing process.