Analysis of simultaneous sheet metal forming operations using elastomer technique

The main aim of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of this technique for the simultaneous forming, embossing and shearing of sheet metals to produce special panels. In the present work the confined system was adopted, where the elastomer was housed in a container. Sheet metal operations consist of different geometries. However, in this work special steel dies were chemically machined to produce the desired shape. Sheet materials with different work hardening behaviour and elastomer of 70–75 Shore hardness were used for the experiments. A simplified analytical treatment is presented for predicting the applied load and the total ram movement required for the forming process. These values are mainly governed by the tool geometry, sheet material and the physical properties of the elastomer pad employed. Other relevant parameters will also be examined.