Laboratory
Fig. 1. Hydraulic press for deep drawing with the control of the blank-holding force 'Benedetti HPS 100' (1000 kN)
Several facilities deserve the experimental research in the laboratory. The laboratory is equiped with a deep-drawing hydraulic press 'Benedetti HPS 100', having the following characteristics: 1000kN slide nominal force, 400kN cushion nominal force, 1000 mm x 900 mm bolster, 500 mm maximum stroke.
Fig. 2. Zwick/Roell 150 kN testing machine
The basic uniaxial mechanical tests are performed using either the Zwick/Roell testing machine of 150kN (Fig.2), or the Instron testing machine of 250kN (Fig.3). Also, an Instron testing machine of 400kN (Fig. 4) is available in the laboratory. The bulging tests using different dies can be performed on the system ERICHSEN shown in Fig. 5. Deep-drawing and stretching through a circular active plate (with spherical or non-spherical punches) can be performed using a testing machine designed and manufactured in the laboratory. Although small, this hydraulically-powered machine allows a vibrating punch force and is used in sheet metal formability studies as well as in conventional drawing experiments. To make an accurate movement and deformation analysis, an optical 3D system is used (Aramis system - Fig.5).
Fig. 3. Instron 250 kN testing machine
Other devices have been designed and realised in the laboratory, to study the optimization and control of the blank-holding force during deep-drawing.
Fig. 4. Instron 400 kN testing machine
Computing is also part of the current activity in the laboratory. Our choice was PCs, because of their much lower upgrade costs and availability of most scientific software on these platforms. A powerfull PC is used for finite element simulations using DynaForm 5.5, Autoform 4.1, and other commercial software, while the department's computers are available for other current research tasks. Our team is also developping a finite element code for sheet metal forming, described in the Projects section.
Fig. 5. Erichsen equipment
Fig. 6 CERTETA Laboratory