Stamping, an E-factory product, is a comprehensive press-line programming, simulation, and analysis tool. It allows many key elements of a press-line design to be prepared and optimized digitally in the early planning phase. Through a full, dynamic virtual representation of the press, the die, the inter-press handling equipment, and of the stamped product itself, the software provides valuable information for the die designer and stamping plant personel long before any sheet metal part is manufactured.

Business Value

Stamping helps you optimize and validate the full working design of equipment long before it's built and installed. Reducing pre-production correction time results in a faster time to market for the final product. This, combined with higher production throughput, greatly improves the return on investment for the high cost press-line installation. By providing a full working, digital model of the presses and associated product handling equipment, and of the product behavior within the equipment, Stamping enables engineers to eliminate design errors, optimize throughput, and maintain a quality product.

Technical solution overview

The stamping module utilizes an accurate model of the press-line, the associated handling equipment, and of the product itself. In addition to importing CAD geometry, you can create and verify the logic of the press control along with a full kinematic model for the press-line, the associated handling equipment, the highly complex die assemblies and of the product. The software has numerical reporting, charting output, and a full 3D graphical display of the kinematic model. You can validate and display the correct synchronization of the press, its stroke rate, and the product handling equipment, enabling collisions to be seen and contact forces reported. The highly sophisticated functional analysis functions provide comprehensive guidance to eliminate functional and structural errors in draw and trim die designs.

The competitive advantage

For turnkey implementation and the press-line user, the Stamping module is designed to allow immediate value to be realized. For sheet metal manufacturers, the software provides a higher degree of confidence in a utilized press system. It enables shorter press-line implementation and ramp-up times shortening the time to production, reducing the cost of re-manufacture and corrections. Thus providing a higher return on investment for the capital equipment, a shorter time to market and higher plant productivity rates.

Features

• Built-in press-line logic
• Automated force calculation
• Part deflection calculation
• Die kinematics verification
• Material flow analysis and product swept path generation
• Stroke rate and synchronization of parts
• Program testing and offline programming
• Performance charting
• Record and playback motions
• Unusually high customizability
• Accurate verification functions

Benefits

• Shorter pre-production ramp-up times
• Increased press stroke rate and higher productivity
• Reduced tooling costs
• Improved throughput and higher quality
• Turn-key functionality, therefore immediate productivity improvement
• Low utilization costs

Major Capabilities

• Automated force calculation -- Analyze the holding force on the part with work piece analysis
• Part deflection calculation -- Determine the deformation of the work piece due to acceleration and velocity of the piece. Create swept volumes of parts moving for collision detection and interference checking.
• Die kinematics verification -- Create 3D simulations to validate and verify the motions within the die assembly.
• Material flow analysis -- Evaluate the work piece as it goes through the process. See how the piece gets lifted, inserted and placed, then punched. See also how the piece gets located, oriented, lifted, and transferred. Evaluate all of the work piece movements.
• Stroke rate and synchronization of parts -- Investigate the synchronization of movements of the parts, holders and press components to evaluate slipping and ripping off of the parts. Determine the activity and motion times to find ways to reduce the per-piece cycle time.
• Planning with 3D space tools -- See the 3D space that the work piece occupies due to bending because of acceleration and gravity. Also, see the path curve the tool follows as well as the interference curve that is created from the path of the piece.
• Program testing and offline programming -- Edit the machine control parameters with a built-in controller. Run the test program to see how the press will operate with proposed parameters. Perform further offline programming to improve the machine sequences.
• Performance charting -- Create graphical charts depicting performance parameters such as motion curves, system acceleration curves, and calculated force curves. Use these charts and diagrams to further visualize calculated process parameters.

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