Research Information System
The International Journal of Materials and Engineering Technology, vol.3, pp.120-130, 2020 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
Multi-point sheet metal forming is a relatively new and developing flexible sheet metal forming
technology. In this type of forming, the die is separated into small discrete pins which can be
arranged in height. So, this reconfigurable die meets the customer requirements mainly used in
prototyping of sheet metal parts. Dies in the conventional forming process are replaced with
these pairs of matrices of pins. In this study, the fundamental principles of multi-point forming
(MPF) are examined and the main parameters of this process are determined with numerical
analysis. In FE modeling each pin is actively controlled to form the sheet part. Aluminum 1100
H14 with a 1 mm sheet is used as workpiece material for sheet metal part and finite element
simulations are employed then, differences between solid die forming and multi-point forming
are indicated. Tearing and dimple formation are investigated and compared with the
conventional methods. The results of the numerical analysis show that multi-point forming is
very suitable for forming sheet metal with complex shapes